Paradoxicality
by Willow-Bee the Cat
Summary: Between life and death a chance meeting leads to something neither could have imagined; a chance to fix what went wrong. But one should always remember that everything has a price. Hermione Granger/Hatake Kakashi. Naruto/HP
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I neither own nor make a profit from Harry Potter or Naruto. This is a fan work written for fun.

Spoilers: Everything for Harry Potter, including the epilogue. For Naruto, everything up to and including Kakashi's death.

Pairing: Eventual Hermione/Kakashi

Rating: T for the moment, the rating will probably be changed to M later on.

Summary: Between life and death a chance meeting leads to something neither could have imagined; a chance to fix what went wrong.

Author's Notes: Firstly, in all honesty, this was inspired by the scenes between Sakumo and Kakashi when Kakashi is between life and death. I don't know if anybody else noticed or if it was all in my mind, but it was markedly similar to the scene at Kings Cross between Harry and Dumbledore.

Secondly, that said, I have a certain take on how the Naruto universe and the Harry Potter universe can coexist which will eventually be revealed. Until the exact reasoning is revealed, one should think of them as two separate dimensions which are tied together.

Thirdly, I know this is the old cliché of the time travel fic. Honestly, who can resist writing at least one?

Fourthly, any romance between Hermione and Kakashi is a long time coming. They won't get together quite a while.

Fifthly, my other stories have not been abandoned. My muse and I are just still in negotiations about how they will go.

Sixthly, Ortrera is a woman from Greek mythology. Her use will make sense eventually. As will the thing about Cassandra.

Seventh, some lines near the end were taken from issue 449 of the Naruto manga, as appropriate.

* * *

Prologue

This was not, Hermione acknowledged-if only in her mind-a position she had expected to be in at this point in her lif-uh, existence. During the war, she'd lived with the knowledge that it was likely she would not survive to see its end. And after the war ended, Hermione had allowed herself to believe that she would die of old age.

It seemed that neither prediction was true.

She had not died in battle. Nor, for that matter had she died of old age. Rather, she had died in childbirth at the age of twenty six.

Admittedly, her death had been helped along quite a bit. But that was beside the point. At least the kids were still alive.

A wave of sorrow hit Hermione at that. Yes, Teddy and James and Albus still lived but not Rose. By the time Hermione had gone into premature labor, Rose was already dead. Her baby had died before she had even had a chance to live.

With that thought, her knees gave out.

"There you are," said a man as he knelt down beside Hermione.

Hermione stared for several long moments as her mind refused to believe the sight before her. Finally, she whispered, "Fred?"

"Good to see you too, Hermione," he said.

She blinked, taking in the sight of him. He looked the same as he had when he'd died, nearly eight years before. "What are you doing here?" She blushed at the stupidity of her question. "Sorry. Of course you're here. You're dead."

"Where do you think we are?" asked Fred as he gently helped her to stand.

"This is the afterlife, right?"

"Yes and no. This is a way station of sorts. Where one stays before moving on to the afterlife."

"Oh. So when do I get to move on?"

"You don't. At least, not until all is decided."

"What do you mean?"

"Right now, you're between life and death. Until you go back or move on, you can't go anywhere." Fred offered her his arm. "Let's go for a walk."

"Ok," she said, leading him into the large forest. "But if I'm between life and death, what are you? You died."

"I'm waiting for George. Don't want to move on without him, you know."

* * *

Kakashi spoke for what felt life hours, telling his father about everything that had happened since his death. He first heard it as he told of the events leading up to his death. The sound of a person walking through deep undergrowth is distinct. The sound of two people even more so. Two people, one with some knowledge of woodcraft, judging by how light the steps were, the other clomped along, clearly with little care of the noise made. Highly unlikely they were shinobi. The duo was too far for a more in depth analysis without using chakra to enhance his senses.

While Kakashi stilled at the sound, Sakumo smiled. "We are not the only ones on this plane of existence. They are not a threat."

There was a feminine squeal followed closely by deep masculine laughter. A moment later, the source of the heavier footsteps began to run, crashing through undergrowth without a thought of concealment.

"You git," shouted a woman. "I'm going to get you for that!"

Kakashi tilted his head to the side. He had understood the words as if they were Japanese, though he knew they had sounded wrong.

"Have to catch me first!" said the male.

Sakumo let out a small laugh. "I see Fred's found a new victim."

"Fred?"

"Weasley Frederick. He's a practical joker. The man's a civilian who died in battle his people's most recent civil war nearly a decade ago."

"Get back here!" yelled the woman as the footsteps approached their camp.

A moment later a tall, red haired man burst into the small clearing. He was looking behind him as he ran, which was why is was no surprise when the man tripped over a root and fell, landing in front of the two Hatake men face down. A woman ran out of the forest, nearly tripping over the man as she skidded to a stop.

The woman was rather pretty, decided Kakashi, though not what anyone would call stunning. The shape of her face was decidedly different from what he was used to, particularly her eyes and her shin was very pale with a pink tint to it that he'd never seen before. Her wild brown curls were long and loose, only adding to her exotic appearance. What little of body shape could be seen made it clear she was civilian. She seemed to have no muscle definition at all. The woman wore a dress of unfamiliar make which allowed only her face, hands, and shod feet to be seen, even when soaked so thoroughly it dripped as she moved.

"What did you do this time, Fred?" asked Sakumo.

The woman growled, kicking the man in the side. "He pushed me in a river."

"Oh come on, Hermione," said the man as he winced, carefully sitting up. "You slipped."

"Yes, but you're the one who helped me slip."

"Oh, hullo Sakumo. This is my sister-in-law, Hermione Weasley. She's married to my younger brother," explained Fred as he stood. "Hermione, this is Hatake Sakumo."

"A pleasure to meet you," Hermione said, though her expression made it clear she found their presence somewhat foreboding.

"You're shivering," said Sakumo, standing. "Come sit before the fire, Weasley-san."

"Thank you," said Hermione, allowing his father to lead her to a log.

"Fred, Weasley-san, this is my son, Hatake Kakashi."

"Haven't seen you around before," said Fred. "How long have you been here?"

"A couple hours," Kakashi found himself saying.

"What happened?"

"Fred, be polite," said Hermione, as she held her hands out in front of the fire.

"I died in battle."

"So you're a soldier, then?" said Hermione, her interest obviously peaked.

"We were both shinobi, ma'am," said Sakumo.

"Shinobi?" The term seemed to confuse her.

"They're a bit of a cross between hitwizards and mercenaries, except more loyal to their country than the Aurors," explained Fred.

"Oh, I guess… that makes sense."

"So, what were you?" asked Kakashi, more annoyed than he cared to admit by this interruption into his time with his father. He calmed himself with the knowledge that now, he and his father had all the time in the world.

"My twin and I owned a shop which sold joke supplies," said Fred.

"Well, I was an Obliviator until I retired a couple months ago," explained Hermione. "For the past couple of months I've been working for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, but I was thinking of transferring to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in a couple years once… once Rose was old enough for school."

And that was when the woman began to sniffle. Fred handed her a handkerchief.

"Merlin's balls," muttered Fred as he turned to glare at Kakashi. "I just got her mind off it and there you go and remind her."

"Remind her of what?" Kakashi chose to focus on Fred rather than the crying woman beside him.

"Hermione ended up in here because-"

"I died in childbirth," interrupted the woman.

"Technically, you're not dead yet," pointed out Fred.

"What?" said Sakumo.

"Her body's in a coma and she can go either way right now," explained the redhead. "But the child she was carrying died before she even went into labor."

"Her name was Rose," ground out Hermione.

* * *

After her outburst, Hermione lost the energy needed to argue. It just wasn't worth it. She drifted, thinking of Rose as the men around her spoke. She wasn't sure how long her mind had wandered when she felt something upon her shoulder. Hermione jumped, unable to stop herself.

"Are you alright?" asked the man Hermione thought was Kakashi.

It was strange, she decided, to hear him speak in Japanese yet be able to understand his words. She supposed it was a side effect of their current state.

"My daughter's dead," she said bitterly. "How do you think I am?" Hermione let out a sigh. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you."

"No apology necessary."

"Fred, is Rose in the afterlife?"

Her normally carefree brother-in-law shook his head sadly. "Since she died before she could be born, she's probably already being reincarnated."

"What?"

"Most of the time, we get the choice of going to the afterlife or reincarnation, but in cases like Rose, it's almost always automatic reincarnation," explained Sakumo.

"Oh."

Kakashi sat down between Hermione and Sakumo on the log she shared with Fred.

"When will I know if I go back or not?" asked Hermione.

"It's not like that," said Fred. "Unless Ron has you taken off life support, you have the option or going back. You can go back to your body now or you can wait until you're ready. Or if you really want to, you can move on to the afterlife."

"What?"

"You're in a unique position. Most don't get that option." Her brother-in-law motioned toward Kakashi. "He's like you, with his body in a coma and the potential to go either way. But unlike you, he doesn't get to make the choice himself."

"Why not?" demanded Kakashi.

"Because, Hermione and Fred are Wizarding and we are not," explained Sakumo.

"What does Wizarding mean?"

"The Wizarding are descended from Ortrera and as a result posses a fraction of her power," said Sakumo. "From what I understand, that power has become something of a Kekkei Genkai for the Wizarding."

Kakashi took a deep breath as his eyes widened. It seemed he understood what his father was referencing.

"Can I go back to right after I lost consciousness?" asked Hermione.

"You can go back to whenever you want," admitted Fred.

"Whenever I want?" she echoed. "Does that include before the attack?"

Fred let out a sigh. "You can go back to any point in your life, but there's a price to everything."

"What do you mean?" asked Kakashi, who sounded completely uninterested, though Hermione was sure that he was figuratively on the edge of his seat.

"Do you remember the seer Cassandra?"

"A princess of Troy. The sister of Hector and Paris, right?"

"Yes, her. She was a true seer, however the first time around she kept her visions quiet, refusing to warn the people of Troy. When she died, she ended up between life and death like you. She chose to go back, not knowing that the price would be that nobody believed her warning of the future or her visions. You know the rest."

"How did you know that?"

"Beedle the Bard isn't the only source of stories among the Wizarding. Cassandra is one of the people central to our history and mythology."

"Would that be the price I would pay as well?"

Fred shrugged. "I don't know. I don't think it would be the same price, but I can't be sure. She's the only person in history or legend I can think of who did something like that. But all that means is that nobody else revealed what they did, if they did indeed go back. Or they weren't believed, I suppose."

"Can you take me back as well?" Kakashi showing some emotion other than boredom for the first time since she'd met him.

"Can I?"

"I don't know," said Fred. "I really don't."

"Why do you want to go back?" asked Hermione.

"I've made mistakes," he said simply. "Just take me back. We don't have to see each other after that. You do whatever it is you're planning and I'll fix my mistakes."

"Fred, do you trust Mr. Hatake-the elder Mr. Hatake?"

"Of course. He's a good guy."

"Mr. Hatake, do you trust your son not to attempt to take over the world or commit genocide or something equally stupid?"

"Yes," said Sakumo, sounding somewhat offended that she'd even asked the question.

"What mistakes do you want to fix?"

Kakashi gave her a look which made it clear this was not something hw wished to discuss, before admitting, "A friend died because of my... arrogance. I broke a promise. I failed as a teacher."

"How far back do you want to go?" asked Hermione, interupting beofre Kakashi could continue. She'd heard enough to know he truely regretted these "mistakes," to know that he'd spoken of these events only because he felt he'd no other choice.

"Back to when I was thirteen. About seventeen years," explained Kakashi.

"Lovely. Nine was such a fun age," Hermione said somewhat sarcastically. "I can't believe I'm doing this," she sighed. "I guess it will give me more time to plan. So, how do I take us back?"

"You just have to want to go back. To will yourself back into your body, keeping the when in the forefront."

"Right." Hermione stood, brushing out her skirt.

"Dad," Kakashi said suddenly, "Regardless of what happened, you did the best you could. I understand now… You broke the rules for all of our sakes-I'm proud of you now."

"Thank you," said Sakumo, leaving Hermione to wonder what those words meant.

"Are you ready to go?" asked Hermione.

"Yes," nodded Kakashi.

"Around when seventeen years ago do you want to go back to?" she asked. "I'm not sure how accurate this will be."

"About seventeen and a half years. Around the solstice would be good," he said after a moment of deliberation.

"Alright. I should hold your hand I guess. The physical connection would probably make it easier. You just concentrate on that solstice all those years ago while I try to figure this out. Fred, thanks. I'll give you some prank suggestions or something."

"Se me up on a date with Parvati instead," he said.

"What? I thought you and Alicia…"

"Nah. That was just a teammate thing. You know, don't let your teammate go unescorted to events or balls. And Parvati has quite the sense of humor."

"I'll take your word for it."

Hermione took the hand Kakashi offered, clutching it tightly with both her hands. She closed her eyes as she did as Fred suggested. The forest faded away as she focused on the date Kakashi had suggested. This had to be, she decided, one of the most foolhardy things she'd ever done.


	2. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Rowling did say that she wanted to give Hermione a younger sister, however hadn't been able to fit her into the books. So, I've decided to give her a sister. In all honesty, Hermione is a bit of a contradiction in the first couple of books. She cares so much about the rules and how teachers view her, yet she's willing to set a **teacher** on **fire** without a second thought, not to mention the blackmail later on, the curse she put on a contract she didn't tell people they were signing and any number of other things. So I've decided to offer an explanation of sorts for these contradictions, beyond the somewhat unrealistic one that it was all because of her friendship with Harry. That is not to say that her friendship with Harry did not have a major impact on Hermione.

Secondly, I know some of you are thinking that Hermione was a little out of character in the prologue. I can't blame you for that. She was certainly not in any condition to be making decisions like that.

Thirdly, this chapter focuses on Hermione. However, have no fear. The next shall focus upon Kakashi. Most future chapters will contain both Hermione and Kakashi in differing amounts.

Fourthly, keep in mind that all is not how it appears, so please don't kill me for the end of the chapter. More on exactly when they are in the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 1

It hurt. It hurt more than anything she'd ever felt before and considering that she'd been tortured for hours on end by a desperate Bellatrix LeStrange, that was saying something. She lay still, not daring to make a sound as she waited for the pain to fade or at least become more bearable.

Eventually, Hermione managed to sit up. She flinched, trying to work through the pain. She had to find out where and when she was and if this pain was mental, physical or both. Carefully, Hermione opened her eyes, only to let out a hiss at what felt like needles being pushed through her corneas.

Shaking slightly, Hermione willed herself to ignore the pain as she forced herself to stand. Slowly but surely, Hermione managed to limp to the bathroom across the hall from her bedroom. Her childhood bedroom. After she took care of her injuries, she would need to examine it to get some idea of what year it was.

Hermione locked the door and took the first aid kit out from under the sink. She bit her lip. The kit was more extensive than most-her parents were medical professionals, after all-but it did not contain the necessary supplies for major injuries. Carefully, she stripped out of the nightgown and looked at herself in full length mirror upon the door.

No wonder she was in so much pain. It seemed that the injuries she'd received-all the injuries she'd received-had come back with her. It was strange to see the scar from the wound given to her by Dolohov in the Department of Mysteries when she was sixteen upon her now not quite pubescent body.

Carefully, she opened the first aid kit and started to pull out bandages, antiseptic ointment, soap, a needle holder, a surgical needle and sutures. She could only assume this was the condition her body had been in when she'd made the choice to return to the past.

With a sigh, Hermione began to clean her wounds using the soap before applying the antiseptic ointment and bandaging them. Once the wounds which did not need stitches were done, Hermione took a deep breath, steeling herself, before she moved on to the wounds which did.

There were reasons she preferred non-magical medicine to magical and why she had insisted upon an OB/GYN rather than a midwife. If the Aurors had not taken her to St. Mungo's-no, she would not think of that. After the Department of Mysteries, the Healers had been able to help her remove Dolohov's curse from her body-a long, arduous process-but until it's complete removal, no healing spell could be cast upon her because the curse used healing magic to strengthen itself. None of the Healers had been able to do anything for her physical injury but bandage it. Hermione had gotten to the point where she'd had Ginny smuggle a needle and thread into the hospital wing of Hogwarts so that she could sew the wound closed herself. None of the Healers had ever realized that was why she had stopped bleeding through her bandages.

Once the wound was clean, Hermione carefully began to stitch it closed. How many times had she done this for Harry and Ron? She'd lost count over the years.

Hermione used a hand mirror to check her back for any injuries. Her eyes widened. How had she missed that? It should be hurting. With a sigh, Hermione quickly tended to it. Once satisfied her external injuries were seen to, she pulled out several ace bandages and began to wrap them about her chest. Several of her ribs were fractured or bruised and since they seemed to have remained in the proper position, the only thing to do for them was to wrap her ribs so that they could heal properly.

Injuries seen to, Hermione went to put her nightgown back on, only to wince. It was covered in blood stains. With a sigh, she put it back down. Instead, she put the first aid kit away and put the packages most of the supplies she'd used on top of the nightgown.

Carefully, she wet her hair down in the sink before using a towel to dry it somewhat. Then Hermione brushed her hair out and braided it into two tails. She blinked, trying to remember the last time she'd had hair this long. At least she knew she was more than fifteen years in the past. After she'd cut all her hair off, she'd refused to grow it past…

Her hair was nearly knee length. She hadn't cut it all off yet. That meant Danny was still…

Hermione sat down upon the edge of the bathtub. She hadn't realized she'd gone that far back in time. But then, she tried not to think of Danny. Well, she wouldn't let it happen this time around.

The first change decided upon, Hermione wrapped several towels around herself, covering her bandages, so that anybody who saw her would think she had just taken a bath. She wrapped the nightgown around the garbage and limped back to her room.

It was a bit of a shock to look for something to wear. It had been over a decade and a half since she'd last worn trousers. However, it was becoming apparent that most of her wardrobe consisted of trousers and shorts. It took some doing, but she managed to find a pinafore dress which reached mid-calf and a long sleeved shirt which matched relatively well. She pulled a set of knee high socks on which would hopefully hide the bruises upon her legs before putting on a pair of rubber soled shoes easy to slip on.

Satisfied that she looked as normal as possible, Hermione picked up the nightgown with garbage hidden inside its folds. Favoring her left leg, she made her way down the stairs and out the back door. After glancing about for any witnesses, Hermione slipped the blood stained garment into the garbage pail underneath several garbage bags.

She glanced up, noting that the sun had begun to rise. Hermione walked back into the house, locking the door behind her. Somewhat hesitantly, she approached the front door. Hermione opened the door and rather than bend, knelt down to retrieve the newspaper. Using the door to support herself, she stood, suppressing the urge to cry out at the pain.

Hermione closed and locked the door before heading to the kitchen table. Her family would be up soon. She glanced at the date on the paper and let out a low hiss. It seemed that she'd been right about the time travel process being inaccurate.

"Hermia? What are you doing up so early?"

"Nothing, Mum. Just couldn't sleep," Hermione said quickly as Tyche Granger walked into the room.

Her mother was from Greece originally, and it showed in the names she had chosen for her children. Hermione had been named for the daughter of Helen and Menelaus while her younger sister, Deianira-known to the family as Danny-was named for the wife of Heracles. From what Hermione understood, the deal her parents had made was that Tyche could pick the first names and their father, Marcus, could pick the middle names.

"Alright," said Tyche. "I'll get started on breakfast. Don't forget, it's the last day of finals. You have been studying, right?"

Hermione blinked, stunned by the question. Then she looked down. Of course. She hadn't started taking schoolwork seriously until after Danny had… Well at least she didn't need to worry about taking exams she hadn't studied for. Neither of her parents would pay it much mind if she flunked.

When Danny stumbled into the room, it was all she could do not to burst into tears or start hugging the girl. The girl was to turn five this coming fall if her memory served correctly. Without a second thought, Hermione helped to fill Danny's plate with food and cup with juice, not noticing the look Tyche gave her. One of surprise closely followed by gratitude. It was not until Hermione began to eat her own breakfast that she remembered what a selfish little brat she'd been at this age.

By the time breakfast was over, it was nearly time to go to school. She could, she knew, beg a ride from her parents on their way to work, but that would only draw attention to herself and her injuries. She was still limping rather badly. The school was only three blocks away, hopefully she could make it.

Immediately after Marcus and Tyche left to go to their private dental practice, Hermione stood She collected several pens and pencils and Danny's small book bag. Normally, she was to wait half an hour after her parents left before heading to school. But at the moment, she knew it just might take her that time to walk all three blocks.

"Come on Danny, let's go," said Hermione, holding out her hand.

"But it's too early," protested the little girl as she played with the end of her plait.

"Not today it's not. Since it's the last day of school, we're going to walk really slow and enjoy all that beautiful summer weather," explained Hermione, hoping the child would fall for her excuse.

"Ok."

"Good, let's go."

As they walked at a snail's pace, Hermione carefully considered her options. Obviously going to a doctor was not a possibility. Her current injuries and her scars would be taken as signs of long term abuse. Which meant that she had to fake being fine until after they healed. And she couldn't risk getting into a situation where she was seen by a doctor for years to come.

Unfortunately, her magic was all but exhausted, which meant that she could not use it to heal herself. Admittedly, a week or two of rest would allow her magic levels to get back to normal. Normal witches and wizards healed anywhere from ten to fifteen times faster than Muggles without any aid from Healers or Medi-Wizards. Which meant nothing if her body didn't have the magic to heal her.

Her body currently had no magical training, which would make it both harder and easier to heal herself once she was capable. During her training as an Obliviator, it had taken her months to unlearn wand magic and learn the simplest of wandless magics. Admittedly, there was no true difference between what one was capable of with wanded magics as with wandless magics.

Wands were just tools, after all. Originally, wands had been used almost exclusively for more powerful magics, such as fiendfyre, where control was essential. All wands really did was aid in control and help wizards use their magic efficiently. However, as the centuries had passed, wands were used more and more often, until by the thirteenth century, wandless magics were all but forgotten save by the various European ministries and their employees.

Unfortunately, they were a tool the Wizarding in Europe had taken to using almost exclusively as a way of controlling just how dangerous the population could be. These days, only those who worked for trusted government agencies, such as the Department of Mysteries, the Hitwizards, and the Obliviator squads were permitted to learn wandless magics.

Hermione let out a sigh as she leaned against a telephone pole. She'd have to let her body heal itself without purposeful magical interference, she admitted to herself. Ah well. At least she would be able to train her body to use wandless magics before she began to attend Hogwarts.

"Are you okay?" asked Danny.

"Yeah," Hermione said too quickly. I'm just looking at those flowers. Aren't they pretty?"

Danny nodded excitedly. "Very pretty."

"Why don't you pick one-but only one-and give it to your teacher," suggested Hermione. "I'm sure she'd like it."

"Okay."

Once the daffodil was picked, Hermione continued onward, careful to keep hold of Danny's hand. By the time they reached the school. A thin film of sweat covered her brow. She'd spend the next day in bed, she promised herself.

A quick look at her watch confirmed that classes were to start in twenty minutes. Hermione dropped Danny off at her preschool classroom and then limped in the general direction of what she hoped was the correct classroom. She got turned around twice before stumbling upon one of her classmates. She quickly brushed off her questions on why she was limping by saying she'd sprained her ankle falling down a flight of stairs.

The math exam passed quickly. It was easy for Hermione to arrange it so that she got just enough, but not too many of the questions correct. The history portion was harder. Mostly because she knew more about the Wizarding version of history than about the Muggle version. Luckily that only added to the slacker image her younger self had cultivated so well.

By the time their half day of school was over, Hermione was having intermittent moments of dizziness and hot flashes, signaling that she was more injured than originally assumed.

"Hermione," called out her teacher.

"Yes, ma'am?" said Hermione as the other students raced out of the room.

"Are you alright? Do you need to see the nurse?"

"I'm fine. Just a sprained ankle."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, ma'am. I have to go. I'm supposed to walk my sister home."

"Of course. Goodbye, Hermione. Have a nice summer."

"You too," called out Hermione as she limped out into the hallway, moving as fast as she could.

It was more difficult than she had thought it would be to walk Danny home. She'd had to stop and rest several times. About half a block from her house, she finally gave in and, hiding behind a bush, threw up. Mind racing, Hermione had then all but rushed Danny home.

The faintness she had felt throughout the day had no doubt been because of blood loss. At least she hoped it was blood loss. Which mean she should drink lots of fluids, juice and milk in particular and eat a large lunch. Getting a blood transfusion was not an option.

* * *

Kakashi awoke to pain. It was certainly not the worst pain he had ever felt, however it was in the top ten most painful experienes. Still, he managed to stumble his way into the bathroom, where he kept his extensive first aid kit. After all, he often escaped the hospital in worse condition than this. Upon not finding his first aid kit where it should be, Kakashi stopped short.

And then he remembered. Konoha had been under attack from Pein and… he had died… sort of. He'd been speaking to his father when two of Otrera's descendants had blundered in. He knew the old stories, but that seemed completely unrealistic. Not the existence of Otrera herself, he'd seen more than enough in his life to believe her legend was probably partially true. But that Otrera had made a deal with the kami to… Surely that was impossible. Yet it did explain why he'd never heard of these Wizarding before.

He'd think on it more later, when he had the chance. The third place he looked revealed his first aid kit. It did not, he decided, contain enough supplies, something which would soon need to be rectified.

Eventually, Kakashi looked at his reflection in the mirror, only to feel the urge to punch something. The reflection before him was of himself in his early teens. But that was not what had bothered him. Rather, it was his eyes. One, dark and brown, the other blood red.

He was too late. Obito was already dead and chances were, Rin was as well.


	3. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Some of the connection between the Harry Potter world and the Naruto world shall be revealed in the coming chapters. Please understand that everything has not been revealed yet.

Secondly, don't even try to say that Hermione was a guerilla and that meant that she was a soldier on the level of a ninja-even of Genin level-in the Naruto universe. She is not truly a soldier, but a former guerilla who did what she felt was necessary to keep herself and her friends alive. Yes, she is a skilled magic user, but she is not a warrior or any sort. That said, she does possess some of the same skills that many ninja do in the Naruto universe.

Thirdly, on the subject of Obliviators, which has not truly been brought up yet. I see it as a civilian position closely tied to law enforcement which goes beyond merely upholding the Statute of Secrecy. Personally, the potential for the Obliviator squads is such that I see it as the Ministry's version of Torture and Interrogation, on top of upholding the Statute of Secrecy, minus the torture (at least physical). After all, these are witches and wizards trained to deal almost exclusively with the mind and memories.

Fourthly, I know I promised some Hermione in this chapter, but there was no good place to put what would essentially be a filler scene, so she's not in the chapter. Instead, you get Kakashi and a lot of him.

* * *

Chapter 2

Kakashi wasn't quite sure how he managed to arrive at the Memorial Stone, but by the time the realization that his gamble had failed-at least partially-had sunk in, he was there. It was strange to look at the stone, empty of so many familiar names.

He stared at the monument, unseeing. It had been incredibly foolhardy to take the woman's offer. No, Hermione had not offered, he merely volunteered himself to come along with little regard for her own wishes.

Who could he blame but himself? The woman had done as requested, though the results had been as unpredictable as she'd claimed. He'd asked Hermione to return him to the winter solstice, which would have given him enough time to prepare, as Obito had died in early spring. Considering the weather and the state of his eye, Hermione had not quite reached the mark. It was at some point during the summer, no doubt. Probably the summer immediately after the Kyubi attacked, considering his size and the ANBU tattoo he'd found. Obito and Rin were dead, as were Minato and Kushina.

But Naruto was alive. If nothing else, he could help look after one of the students he'd failed so horribly. It wouldn't take much to be assigned to the squad of ANBU who had kept careful eye on the boy in rotating shifts until his graduation from the Academy. Maybe he could do something to help Itachi as well. Perhaps there was some way to ensure the young prodigy had actual time as a child.

What else could he do? Obviously he would need to find some way to ensure that Jiraiya looked closely at both the Akatsuki and Oto. This was going to take some careful planning. If he made a mistake, he could find himself under suspicion.

And then his thoughts turned to guilt. Was Hermione doing the same thing right now? Trying to plan out what changes to make? Trying to figure out how to accomplish her goals? Or more likely, was she mourning the family and precious people he'd all but forced her to abandon?

He'd encouraged and commandeered the desperate plans of a woman who'd just lost her child. Kakashi closed his eye. How could he have done such a thing? The poor woman had been in shock, grieving the loss of a child and he'd… He'd all but stolen the woman from her husband. And probably her other children as well. Given a chance to think things over properly, no doubt Hermione would have chosen to return to her family. Surely a woman only four years his junior had been married for a couple years at least. Most civilian women married in their teens. Kunoichi tended to put off marriage until their twenties, but Hermione was not a kunoichi.

But then, Hermione had been an Obliviator, whatever that meant. And it was clear the woman had held some sort of bureaucratic position and that she'd possessed no physical training. Then again, Hermione had what had been described as a kekkei genkai. It was possible that she'd been trained in its use but not in taijutsu. It was a somewhat alien concept, but before the Uchiha massacre, he'd known of a couple civilian members of the clan which had possessed active sharingans because they'd survived dangerous situations. Admittedly, they'd received only the most basic of training, but they had still possessed the active sharingan. Perhaps the same had happened with her.

And why was he worrying about her? He'd never see Hermione again anyway. Still, the limited interaction had firmly entrenched the woman in the comrade category. She was not somebody he could see himself going on missions with, ever, but that did not change the fact that he categorized her as he would a fellow shinobi he'd gone on a mission with.

Which could prove a liability, he well knew. For this woman's loyalties were questionable at best. Otrera's children had hated the ancestors of the shinobi. Admittedly for good reason. Nonetheless, he was not and would not allow himself to be held responsible for the actions of his ancestors. Then again, Hermione was not responsible for the actions of Otrera's children either. And after all, Penthesilea, one of Otrera's middle daughters had always been portrayed as quite reasonable.

Why was he focusing on legends he'd heard on his mother's knee? How much of it was actually truth? Did it even matter? He'd never encountered the Wizarding before and chances were he'd never encounter them again.

"Kakashi-kun?" said a voice he'd not heard in sixteen years, interrupting his thoughts.

"Minato-sensei?" asked Kakashi, barely believing that the man could be alive.

"You were supposed to be at training ground three two hours ago. Even Obito-kun managed to beat you there." His voice was teasing, though there was an undercurrent of concern.

Kakashi felt his knees give out as he slid to the ground. No. This couldn't be. He had the sharingan now. Obito was dead.

"Kakashi?!" And then Namikaze Minato knelt before Kakashi, who could only stare blankly at the man who was surely dead. "What happened to your eye? Did you get into a fight?"

"A fight," echoed Kakashi.

This was impossible… wasn't it?

His mind was already thinking of possibilities for how this could have happened. Not quite knowing what else to do, Kakashi gently squirmed past Minato so that he could see the Memorial Stone properly.

Searching frantically, Kakashi allowed his eye to widen as he took in what names were there. And what names were missing. Rin's name was not on the stone. Obito's name was not on the stone. They still lived. He'd been mistaken, made incorrect assumptions. They were alive.

Then why did he still posses the sharingan? Why did he have that ANBU tattoo?

Kakashi almost hit himself when he remembered the injuries he'd spent part of the morning bandaging. Surely, if he'd come back with fresh wound, it stood to reason that it was possible for the old, healed injuries to come back with him as well.

And in that moment Kakashi was grateful he'd tried neither to dress as he had before entering ANBU nor as he had as a member of ANBU. Instead, he'd chosen to wear the dark blue trousers and shirt almost all Chunin and Jonin wore at some point, along with a flak jacket he'd found at the back of his closet. His tattoo could not be seen and would not raise questions. Though obviously he'd need to think of some way to hide it later on.

"Kakashi-kun, what happened?" asked Minato, this time much more gently.

"I…" Kakashi thought quickly. "I fought a nukenin." At least it was relatively close to the truth. He'd never been able to lie to his sensei properly. "Obito's waiting?"

"Yes, he is. Have you been to the hospital yet?"

"I've had medical treatment," said Kakashi, sidestepping the question.

And then he realized something. Kakashi let his head fall to the palm of his hand. If he had possessed the injuries he'd almost died with, then Hermione probably had the injuries she'd almost died with. She'd almost died in childbirth. She was four years younger than him. Would she really risk allowing any medical professional to go near her when she had injuries of that nature? Injuries of that nature would put her family under suspicion at the very least. If it had happened to a citizen of Konohagakure, the family would certainly spend some time in the company of members of Torture and Interrogation.

Damnit. He knew what he had to do and knew it wouldn't endear him to his team or his village.

"Sensei," said Kakashi. "I don't think I'm in any condition to train today."

"No, you're not." Minato obviously knew something was wrong and Kakashi had no doubt that if he didn't satisfy his teacher's curiosity, this would go very badly for him.

"I'm going to go back to bed, if that's alright."

Minato gave him a measuring look. "Are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital? Or have Rin-chan look at you?"

"Maybe later," conceded Kakashi. "I just want to sleep right now."

After a long moment of silence, Minato nodded his agreement. "Do you need help getting back to your apartment?"

Kakashi shook his head. "I don't think so."

* * *

As Kakashi tried to figure out how to even find Hermione, he began to outfit himself with weapons, taking a moment to marvel at the White Light Chakra Sabre before strapping it onto his back over his flak jacket. Weapons and scrolls were placed wherever he could find space. On his way back to his apartment, he'd bought more medical supplies, which were now in a storage scroll in a pocket of his flak jacket along with his camping supplies.

He had to be back before he was labeled a nukenin. Which meant he had three days before he reached the point of no return.

And he still had only a slight idea of how to begin his search. It was well known that the cats would not answer to any shinobi who attempted to create a contract with them. In all the stories of Otrera, she'd been labeled as a cat summoner, or somebody close to cats. To be more specific, house cats. According to legend, Penthesilea and her sisters Hyppolyta and Antiope had wielded the cat summoning contract as well. Admittedly, it was said that all the daughters of Otrera had possessed nin animals, but Melanippe's toad summoning contract had been lost for millennia before ending up in Jiraiya's family's hands and Lysippe's owls had been nin animals, not summons.

Which meant that the best way he could think of to find Hermione was to speak to the leader of the cat summons. Hopefully the cat would at least be willing to give him some hint of where the Wizarding lived.

Ready as he could hope to be, Kakashi opened his door, intent on heading to a deserted training field, only to stop short. On his doorstep were Rin and Obito. They looked so young. Younger than he remembered them being.

"Excuse me," said Kakashi as he stepped out into the hall, fighting the urge to hug them and never let go.

"W-we heard you were injured," said Rin, her nervousness showing. "Minato-sensei said you were planning on sleeping."

"I need to run some errands," explained Kakashi. "You two should go home."

"Hey! Don't take that tone with Rin-chan. She was just worried about you," snapped Obito.

"If you really need to get something from a store, Obito-kun and I can do it," suggested Rin. "You should really be in a hospital right not. Or resting, at least. You lost an eye." By this point the trio had exited the apartment building. "Let me take a look at you, if nothing else. I'm the team medic."

"Please, just forget that you even thought about coming over," said Kakashi. This would not end well, he could feel it.

"Are you going to leave the village?!" hissed Obito.

"Why would you think something like that?" he asked as he led his teammates through the streets.

"You have more weapons on you than you do during a mission," Obito pointed out.

Rin stopped short, a look of horror crossing her face before she ran to catch back up to the boys. "Please tell me you're not going to become a nukenin."

"Quiet down," said Kakashi. "And I don't think I'll be labeled a nukenin. I've no intention of betraying Konoha."

"What the hell do you mean you don't think you'll be labeled a nukenin?" demanded Obito.

Kakashi let out a sigh, before he began to give an explanation he could work into his story about fighting a nukenin. "Minato-sensei told you I got into a fight with a nukenin yesterday, right?"

"He didn't tell us how you were injured," Run said quietly.

"Well that's how it happened. There was somebody else involved and I need track her down."

"What? Who?" asked Obito.

"Her name is Hermione," Kakashi settled upon saying. "She's a non-combatant a couple years younger than us."

"Did the nukenin kidnap her?" asked Obito.

"No. But she was injured to begin with and now her injuries are only worse," explained Kakashi. "I need to make sure she'd receiving medical care of some sort."

"Kakashi," Rin said gently. "You're going to what, leave the village to track down some person who may be an enemy just to make sure she's alright?"

"She's not an enemy. At least not at the moment." His mind whirled as he tried to think of something to say. Something close enough to the truth that it would not read like a lie. "I've met her before. One of her kinsmen, a merchant, was friends with my father. That's how we met. If not for her interference yesterday, I'd be dead. I can't just abandon a comrade."

There was understanding in Obito's eyes, though Rin still seemed hesitant. He should have known this was how the explanation would go.

"I'm going with you," insisted Obito. "What if you run into that nukenin again?"

"Obito," Kakahsi said softly. "I don't know how long it will take to find her. This may get me labeled a nukenin."

"So? We're a team."

Kakashi was more than slightly surprised by this. Originally, he and Obito had not formed an understanding until several hours before his death. But then, Kakashi had all but given a speech on loyalty which would no doubt have appealed to the boy.

"Oh, I'll go as well," sighed Rin. "You said this Hermione was injured?"

"I'm about to do something which may get me labeled nukenin," Kakashi said, trying to make the duo understand.

"We're a team," said Obito.

Rin nodded her agreement. "Is she from an enemy country?"

"No. But she's not from an allied country either."

"A neutral country then? Wave perhaps?"

"Farther away than that," was all Kakashi said.

"That's good enough for me." Rin bit her lip before asking, "Why do you want to make sure she's seeing a medic-nin?"

"You're not coming. Neither of you are. I'm not getting you two into trouble as well."

"Yes, we are," insisted Rin. "We're a team and we don't abandon our teammates."

"Rin-chan's right," agreed Obito. "We're going with you."

Kakashi closed his eye. They couldn't be serious. He let out a sigh. A medic-nin of Rin's skill level would be a incredibly useful.

"Fine."

"Tell, me about her wounds," said Rin.

"The injuries she had to begin with were not the sort one would wish to bring to a doctor if they were trying to avoid implicating their family in some way. She's not a kunoichi. She can't explain away injuries like those as easily as you would be able to. I'm worried she might try to treat them herself rather than risk explaining how she received them in the first place."

Rin's eyes narrowed. "How much younger than us did you say she was?"

"Four years."

"Are you the one who injured her that way?" said Rin, in a way which made it clear she suspected sexual abuse or something else of that nature.

"No. I didn't lay a hand on her," said Kakashi. "And that wasn't how she was injured, though your guess was close."

"Alright," Rin said decisively. "I need to head over to the hospital. Obito-kun, you get your supplies together and Kakashi-kun, go pick up my supplies. We'll meet at the gates in half an hour."

"What?" said Kakashi.

"I'm going to make sure that the hospital knows I've gone to treat a patient and brought the two of you with me for protection," Rin said slyly. "We'll have a week before I need to send a message back to update them on my patient's condition."


	4. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Before anybody says anything, roughly 1 out of every hundred women, historically, died during or because of childbirth. When women, in the 17th century started having their children in hospitals and clinics, this number rose dramatically due to lack of sanitation in these hospitals, on some occasions reaching as high as forty percent of the women in a hospital at any one time. This was due to puerperal fever, generally caused by bacteria. With the advent of modern medicine, these numbers changed dramatically.

Secondly, on the matter of names, I chose Rin's surname at not-quite-random. Make of it what you will. I felt she needed one and acted accordingly. Also, the Greek names of the cats were chosen for a reason.

* * *

Chapter 3

Kakashi approached the gates, Rin's gear in hand, giving no sign of his inner distress. The chakra signature was well hidden, but even in his current state, Kakashi was not so oblivious as to miss it. Obviously, Minato had some idea of his plans.

Wordlessly, Kakashi handed the gear to Rin, who began to put her medical supplies into her pack. Obito was not there yet, but that was to be expected. The boy had probably gotten caught up helping some old woman carry her groceries or doing some other good deed. He'd arrive soon enough.

He leaned against the wall next to Rin, waiting for Obito to show up or Minato to make the first move. Minato's presence, he supposed, could be useful. It was possible that one of the toads would know where to find these Wizarding. After all, Melanippe had been the one to negotiate the summoning contract with the toads from what he remembered.

"Sorry I'm late," Obito all but shouted as he skidded to a stop before Rin and Kakashi. "My aunt wanted me to babysit and I had to talk her into getting one of my cousins to do it instead."

"It's alright," said Rin. "You're only a couple minutes late."

Kakashi nodded his agreement, leading both Rin and Obito to stare at him in shock at the lack of a lecture on punctuality. "Let's get going."

Rin handed the medical forms she'd had approved by the head of the hospital to the guards. Not even the Hokage could stand between a medic-nin and her patient without good reason. At least if he wanted the medical corps to remain loyal.

Once the sentries verified Rin's forms and noted their departure, Kakashi led the trio up into the trees, careful to set a pace which his companions could keep up with which would not aggravate his injuries. Minato, he noted, kept pace with them, staying just out of sight. Once Kakashi had led them to a spot well away from any of the normal patrol routes and the main road, he jumped to the ground.

Rin and Obito followed, casting somewhat confused looks around them.

"So," asked Rin. "What next?"

Kakashi ran his thumb along the edge of a kunai, drawing blood. "We track Hermione-san down." He completed the familiar hand seals with ease before placing his hand upon the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Pakkun appeared immediately and Kakashi could not help but stare. He was barely more than a pup. He'd forgotten how young the ninken was. No matter. Pakkun should be able to help, even at this point in his life.

"Minato-sensei, you might as well come down now," said Kakashi. "Pakkun, do you know how I can contact the leader of the cat summons?"

"What?" demanded Rin as Minato jumped down from his perch upon a nearby tree, startling Obito. "Minato-sensei?"

"There are no cat summons," said Obito after he caught his breath. "Everybody knows that."

"Otrera was real. It stands to reason that she actually did make a contract with the house cats," Kakashi said quietly, noting how Pakkun had tensed and begun to shake. Something about this scared the ninken, badly. "Which means the cats would be the best beings to talk to."

"What are you doing?" Minato asked, subtly placing himself between Kakashi and the other two Chunin.

"We're tracking down a girl in need of medical attention," explained Kakashi. "Rin-chan has already arranged to take over her medical care. Now, Pakkun, can you arrange for me to speak to the head of the cats, or do I need to talk to the toads instead?"

"Kakashi-kun, Otrera wasn't real," Minato said gently. "She's just a legend."

"All legends have a kernel of truth to them. Pakkun?"

The little pug looked ready to wet himself and for a moment, Kakashi considered that perhaps talking to the cats was a bad idea. "Otrera was real," Pakkun managed to say. "And the cats are still loyal to her descendants, though there's been no cat summoner in centuries."

"Good. Then they'll be able to tell me how to start searching for one of the Wizarding at the very least."

"What are the Wizarding?" demanded Minato.

"How did you know that name?" Pakkun demanded of Kakashi. "The Wizarding still despise the Shinobi. Why would you want anything to do with them?"

"Hermione-san is Wizarding. She's the only reason I'm alive right now, and because of me, she's no longer in the care of a doctor," Kakashi explained.

"That does not explain what these Wizarding are," said Minato.

"They're the descendants of Otrera," explained Pakkun.

"One of these Wizarding got you caught up in a battle with a nukenin?" Minato asked the annoyance gone from his voice.

"The other way around," said Kakashi. "I brought her into the fight."

Minato nodded his understanding. "Do you know where, Hermione-san was it, is right now?"

"All I know is that after it happened, she left to return to her people. Some sort of transportation jutsu was used. But I don't know where her people live," Kakashi spoke quickly, keeping straight in his mind all that had been said. "When Dad introduced me to her and her kinsmen, they came to meet us."

"Your father knew Hermione-san?" asked Minato, unable to hide that he was thinking this over quite seriously.

"Her kinsman, Frederick-san was a merchant and a friend of Dad's. Hermione-san was traveling with Frederick-san when we met." Kakashi chose the longer version of the man's name precisely because the man had seemed to dislike it. Chances were, people knew him as Fred, rather than Frederick.

"When was this?"

"After Dad was…"Kakashi stumbled, trying to decide what to say. "After that mission."

Minato nodded, understanding precisely which mission Kakashi spoke of.

"Pakkun, can you take us to the leader of the cats or not?"

Hesitantly, the dog said, "I know where the cats are. But I don't know how to take all of you there."

"How quickly can you get to this place?" asked Minato.

"A couple minutes, once I've been dismissed. Their lands border the ninken's," admitted the small pug.

Kakashi could see where Minato was going with this. "Could you use Gyaku Kuchiyose no Jutsu to take me there? With the right seals, I could put you into a storage scroll and release you once there."

Pakkun was giving him a look of disbelief while Minato nodded at Kakashi. "That could work."

"You can't be serious," protested Pakkun. "The cats are dangerous."

"What sort of ninja would I be if I let a little danger and uncertainty keep me from my mission?" Kakashi paused. "I will not abandon a comrade in need. Do the dogs, personally, have any problems with the cats?"

"Of course not," snapped Pakkun. "We're not stupid enough to start a fight with them. But the leader of the snakes a couple centuries ago, Manda-sama's father, started some sort of vendetta with the cat queen, Aminta-sama. Less than a week later, Manda-sama's father was dead, along with most of the snake elders. Nobody was stupid enough to bother the cats again."

"So you're not enemies, then. Good."

"Wait," said Minato. "Do you know if the toads and the cats are enemies?"

"The toads? Of course not," laughed Pakkun, his voice slightly hysterical. "They're allies."

* * *

Hermione swayed slightly as she went about making lunch for herself and Danny. This was, she knew, very dangerous, but if she did not cook, then they would not eat until dinner. Finally, two dishes with souvlaki and pilaf were set upon the kitchen table.

Perhaps it was not quickest meal to make, but it was the most nutritious thing she could find in the fridge. Her healing body would need the protein from the pork and the carbohydrates from the rice. The pilaf had been leftovers from the night before and her mother loved to stuff as many diced vegetables in with the rice as possible.

She ate slowly, making sure each bite would not come back up. Absently, she reached to wipe the sweat from her brow. Hermione continued to eat as though nothing was wrong so as not to alarm her sister. There was no doubt that she was developing a fever.

* * *

Kakashi quickly released his companions from his spare storage scroll. Once done, he glanced around. It had been well over two decades since his last visit to the dog's homeland. Sakumo had taken him there once, right after he'd become a Genin and signed the summoning contract, so that he could meet the dog elders.

Once Rin, Obito, and Minato were upright and mobile, Kakashi turned to Pakkun. "Which way?"

Pakkun gave a resigned sigh. Kakashi made a note to make it up to the ninken after this was over. "Follow me."

The group followed the pug through a thick forest more impressive in the size and age of the trees and the amazing array of undergrowth than anything Kakashi had ever encountered before. Ten minutes and over two dozen miles later, Pakkun dropped to the ground, where he sat down. They were, Kakashi noted, only a couple yards from the end of the forest.

"The cat's lands start at the end of the forest," explained Pakkun. "Are you sure you want to talk to them?"

"Yes, I am," stated Kakashi.

"Alright," sighed Pakkun. "We should walk to the edge of the forest and wait for one of the guards to find us. Otherwise they'll take it as trespassing or an attack."

It took more of Kakashi's patience than he cared to admit to settled in to wait. Every instinct he had was screaming that there was little time to spare and that for all he knew Hermione was hemorrhaging, or something worse. The woman had almost died in childbirth, after all. His own mother had died shortly after miscarrying what should have been Kakashi's younger sibling from an infection which had become septic.

There were a multitude of postpartum dangers to new mothers that Kakashi could think of off the top of his head. Hidden villages, as a whole, tended to offer much better medical care than civilian villages as a result of their medic-nins, who generally treated the civilians of the hidden villages as well as the shinobi. Civilian maternal mortality rates tended to range anywhere between one and forty percent of birth depending upon how skilled the civilian medical professionals of the country were while the maternal mortality rates of hidden villages tended to be far lower.

He was wrenched from his thoughts by a small feline walking toward Pakkun. Kakashi straightened up immediately as the cat sat down before them.

"Why are humans on our border, dog?" asked the cat.

Minato motioned for Kakashi to speak. Kakashi could only think that the man wanted to see what he would do.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "I've come to request an audience with Aminta-sama."

"Why should I bother the queen with the likes of you?" asked the cat.

"This is about a friend of mine," explained Kakashi, mentally wincing at the use of the word friend. "She is one of the Wizarding and in need of urgent medical care." At least he was relatively sure she had brought back injuries as well. "I was hoping that the queen would be willing to give me aid in locating her."

"You know of the Wizarding?"

"Yes, I know of Otrera's descendants."

"And you call a witch your friend?"

"Yes. I don't see why the actions of our ancestors should reflect upon us."

"What is your name, boy?" asked the cat.

"Hatake Kakashi. I am a Chunin of Konohakagure and the dog summoner."

"And this witch you seek?"

"I know only that her name is Hermione. I can tell you her age and describe her physical appearance if you want," Kakashi said, somewhat sheepishly, editing the truth somewhat. "I was never told her family name."

"Do you have any other information on her?" asked the cat.

"She lived in the same country as the Weasley clan when we first met."

The way the cat held himself changed slightly at the mention of the Weasleys. "What is your purpose in bringing these other humans?"

"They're my team," Kakashi explained quickly. "This is Shiranui Rin-chan, a Chunin medic-nin and Uchiha Obito-kun, a Chunin as well. They're my teammates. And this is Namikaze Minato-sensei, our Jonin-sensei and a toad summoner. Oh, and this is Pakkun, my main summons."

The cat stood and padded over to Minato, where it began to sniff his legs. "You are a toad summoner," agreed the cat. "My name is Ismene. I will guide you to Queen Aminta."

At they passed through the fields and into yet another forest, it quickly became apparent that the house cats were like Kakashi's ninken in that they were all the same size as their counterparts. Which led Kakashi to wonder how powerful or intelligent they were that they were able to do to the snakes what Pakkun had told them.

Finally, they reached some sort of pavilion. Kakashi and the others halted several yards away as instructed. Ismene went up to speak to several of her fellow cats. One of the cats went into the pavilion, followed by Ismene herself. Though Kakashi could hear voices speaking, they were too low for him to understand and he refused to use chakra to enhance his senses and risk their ire. Several minutes later, Ismene left the pavilion and approached the humans.

"Milady will see the toad summoner, the dog summoner and the ninken. The other two are to wait here," explained Ismene.

"Thank you," said Minato as Kakashi expressed his gratitude.

Kakashi kept an eye on Pakkun as the trio trailed Ismene into the pavilion. The dog seemed to have worked past his fears, at least partially. Well, he was no longer shaking, at least.

A cat, slightly larger than Pakkun sat upon a pillow inside the pavilion. The cat was old, as evidenced by the fur which was just beginning to gray around her eyes. She was covered in sleek black fur and her eyes were a piercing shade of yellow. Another cat, this one gray, sat on the wooden floor next to the black cat

Kakashi bowed, noting that Minato only inclined his head in acknowledgement. Ismene gave the black cat their names, motioning to each in turn before introducing the gray cat as Gregorios and the black cat as "milady Aminta, queen of the cats."

"Ismene said you were searching for one of my witches," began the queen. "You call her friend."

Taking his cue, Kakashi said, "Yes, I do."

"How did you meet this witch?" asked Aminta.

Kakashi repeated the quickly concocted story before being asked to explain about the nukenin. He managed to speak only of how Hermione had saved his life and that it was his fault she was no longer receiving medical care, leaving out just what had happened with the nukenin entirely.

"You said she was injured to begin with," said Gregorios. "Explain."

Kakashi let out a breath. Obviously there was no way around this. He'd hoped to keep the information contained to himself and Rin, though he'd been resigned to Minato finding out at the very least.

"She nearly died in childbirth; the baby-her daughter, Rose-was stillborn," he explained, noting how Minato had stilled.

"How old did you say Hermione was?" asked Gregorios.

"Eight."

"Who was the father?" demanded Aminta all but hissing, her voice low and dangerous.

"I don't know."

"That is a lie," stated an infuriated Ismene, her calico coat standing on end.

Kakashi closed his eye in defeat. "I really don't know who the father is. All I know is that he was a member of the Weasley Clan."

"Describe the girl," said Gregorios.

"She has very curly brown hair, with sandy highlights. Her skin is very pale and pink and there are small brown spots upon her face," Kakashi spoke, thinking about the woman he'd met but once before. "Her eyes are a light brown, like amber or honey."

Gregorios stood, "I will ask my lieutenants if any have seen this Hermione." The gray cat disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"His lieutenants?" said Minato.

"Gregorios is in charge of the _United Kingdom_," explained Ismene. "It is the country that the Weasley clan lives in."

"He's in charge of a country?" asked Minato.

"Otrera's descendants are numerous and widespread," explained Aminta. "Gregorios and his cats watch over the Wizarding of the _United Kingdom_."

"Why do you watch over them?" asked Kakashi, truly interested.

"It was part of the contract we agreed to with Otrera-only her descendants may sign it," said Ismene. "We watch, so that we can find those worthy of our companionship. Many young cats choose to spend a couple decades in the company of an interesting witch or wizard. And we watch to find someone worthy of wielding the cat summoning contract once more."


	5. Chapter 4

Author's Note: A lot happens in this chapter. I know this isn't very fast moving, but I don't believe in skipping over anything which might be important. This chapter is a bit longer than usual and I'm hoping I can make all future chapters this length or longer as well.

Secondly, on the matter of Crookshanks, please don't kill me. All will be explained once Hermione starts asking questions.

Thirdly, I don't think medic-nins are familiar with the concept of doctor-patient confidentiality. At least not to the same extent we are.

* * *

Chapter 4

Kakashi fought the urge to show any sign of the pain he was in. Admittedly, the injuries were not bad enough to disable him, even temporarily, but if he pushed himself too far, he'd have no choice but to allow Rin to care for him. Something which he could not allow to happen. At least not until after he found some way to explain his sharingan, some way to explain his ANBU tattoo.

Minato stood next to Kakashi, seemingly calm, though it was obvious to those who knew him well that he was unsettled. At least judging by the tightness around his lips and the look in his eyes.

Aminta calmly watched the trio, as any normal cat would watch prey it was too lazy to bother catching. Ismene was teasing Pakkun by waving her tail in front of his face while they spoke in low voices about how his family and the rest of the dog summons were doing.

Half an hour after Gregorios had left, he reappeared in a puff of smoke along with another cat. This large ginger tom was bow legged and long haired, with a squashed in face.

"Milady," said Gregorios. "This is Crookshanks, one of the youths assigned to _Diagon Alley_ in London, the capital of the _UK._ He recognized Hermione by the description I was given."

"Tell us of her," commanded Aminta.

"Her name is Hermione Granger," explained Crookshanks. "She's a _Muggle-Born_ descended from Otrera's daughter Penthesilea through her mother's line. Two years ago, when she was six, she and her younger sister, Deianira, wandered into the _Alley_. When I realized that they'd stumbled upon the _Leaky Cauldron_ by accident, seen past the illusions, and somehow convinced the proprietor to let them past the barrier, I decided to follow them to ensure no harm befell such fascinatingly resourceful children. I trailed the girls back to the park their parents had taken them to. Both adults were most distressed at their disappearance and relieved at their safe return. I stayed with the group to ensure no _Death Eaters_ had decided to follow them home. The next morning I returned to _Diagon Alley_. The elder Granger daughter is much smarter than she allows others to see. With proper training-assuming she applies herself to her studies and that the _Death Eaters_ don't kill her-she'll no doubt go far. She's the most interesting witch I've seen yet and I'm considering becoming her or her younger sister's _familiar_ in a couple years."

"She talked her way into the _Alley_?" said Ismene, respect in her voice.

"Yes," agreed Crookshanks. "Lilith-she spends her days in the _Leaky Cauldron_-didn't hear what was said, but saw Hermione talking Tom, the barkeep into letting her past the barrier."

"That is impressive for such a young witch," agreed Aminta. "Crookshanks, take Ismene, the humans and the dog to the Granger household. According to the dog summoner who claims to be Hermione's friend, the elder Granger is injured and in need of help. If they are lying about her injuries or they attempt to harm either of my witches, you and Ismene are to ensure they learn the error of their ways." The cat gave Kakashi her best feline smirk. "Is that agreeable to you?"

"Yes, Amita-sama," said Kakashi.

* * *

Upon examination, the area was unlike anything Kakashi had ever seen before. The streets were paved with tar and stone and to each side was further, lighter paving Crookshanks had called _sidewalks._ Mechanical devices called _automobiles_ which were similar to carts drove on the streets at speeds only a ninja could match, leaving people no choice but to walk upon these _sidewalks_.

There were wooden and metal fences and manicured yards put together in unfamiliar styles. Even stranger were the houses, most large and very well made. There was glass everywhere and more electric lights than Kakashi had ever seen in one place, even inside Konoha, though as it was the early afternoon, the lights were off. There were signs everywhere featuring an unfamiliar language and even more unfamiliar system of writing, though Kakashi was relatively sure that it was the language Hermione had spoken. It was a bit difficult to tell without the simultaneous translation, but the guttural sounds the people made sounded similar.

Having seen the strange looks they initially received, Minato had ordered everybody to henge themselves so that it looked like they were wearing civilian clothing. The looks had stopped once the henges were up, leading them to conclude that Konoha's civilian fashions were at least considered relatively acceptable attire by the locals.

Eventually they were led to a property with a two story brick house. It was neither the largest house they'd seen nor the smallest, though certainly on the smaller side.

"This is it," said Crookshanks. "They probably haven't moved-_Muggles_ do tend to move more often than the Wizarding."

"Well, somebody's home," said Rin, nodding at the sounds coming from within.

"Not both parents, at the very least," said Ismene. "The car isn't here."

"Do we knock or let ourselves in?" asked Obito.

"Knock," Kakashi announced after a moment of thought. He wasn't sure how Hermione would react to somebody breaking into her house.

Kakashi walked up the stone path and did as he'd suggested, knocking loud enough to be heard over the noise form inside. Some of the sound stopped instantly-perhaps a television being turned off. This was followed by the barely audible sound of footsteps-a very light person limping, from what he could tell.

A moment later the door opened. The girl who answered the door could only, Kakashi decided, be Hermione or one of her very close relatives. The resemblance was too uncanny for it to be otherwise. She leaned heavily upon the door, as if it were the only thing keeping her upright. Her forehead was covered in a thin layer of sweat and there were signs of the strain she was under in the minute wrinkles forming around her eyes.

"_Mister_ Hatake?" she said in confusion after a long moment of staring at him. The word before his name was familiar and it took Kakashi a moment to remember that it had translated as the equivalent of the honorific –_san_.

"Hermione-san," Kakashi said in greeting.

She said several unfamiliar words before her eyes rolled up in her head and she lost consciousness. Kakashi moved quickly, managing to catch her before she hit the floor. Noting how unstable her ribs felt, he quickly moved his arms to a position which would hopefully not cause her ribs to shift and pierce any of her internal organs.

"Rin-chan," called out Kakashi, "She fainted. Several of her ribs are broken."

Rin rushed over to his side and placed a hand upon Hermione's brow. She ran a quick scan using chakra before saying, "Bring her inside and lay her down on a flat surface. She's lost a lot of blood. Obito-kun, go find something for her to drink and something to eat. Juice and a piece of fruit if there is any. She may not wake up for a while yet, but I'd rather be prepared."

Carefully, Kakashi picked her up bridal style and followed Rin into the first room off the entranceway. A girl, no more than four or five was sleeping upon the smaller couch, a blanket laid over her small form. Rin motioned toward the larger couch, where Kakashi laid Hermione down. Doubtless, this had been the room Hermione had come from, as it had a large television.

"Do you need anything else?" asked Minato once Obito had brought the requested items into the room.

"No, sensei," said Rin.

Minato nodded his understanding. "Why don't the boys and I secure the perimeter while you do an initial medical evaluation. Crookshanks-san, you understand the language she spoke, right?"

"The language is English. Both Ismene and I know its spoken and written forms," said Crookshanks.

"Good. What did she say?"

"The first thing she said was 'Hatake-san,' then she asked 'what are you-.' She fainted before she could finish the sentence."

"Alright. You stay with Rin-chan. Could you, Ismene-san, come with us? We may need a translator."

* * *

Kakashi chose to say nothing as he set up a simple trap in yard behind the house. Ismene would speak when she was ready, of that he had no doubt.

Ismene pounced, catching a small brown bird. As she tore it open, she said, "I suggest you explain what is really going on, dog summoner."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't lie to me, dog summoner. I'm not in the mood." Ismene began to eat the bird. "The Weasley Clan is not the sort to do as you have suggested. The only reason we even agreed to this farce was because of how utterly insane your accusation was. Talk quickly, before my patience runs out."

"Do you know the story of the seer Cassandra?" Kakashi asked after a long moment of silence.

"Far better than you, shinobi," the cat began to lick up blood as it escaped.

"Do you remember the choice she made, in the place between life and death?"

The cat stilled, her voice no longer at the edge of a hiss. "Start at the beginning."

"My story was true, from a certain perspective. I did fight a nukenin of sorts. It's how I ended up in a coma, how I ended up at the way station in the place between life and death. My father was waiting for me there. Our conversation was interrupted by Weasley Frederick, called Fred, and his sister-in-law, Weasley Hermione," Kakashi spoke quickly and quietly, explaining just how he had ended up eighteen years in the past. After he finished, they were silent for a long time as he continued securing the perimeter.

Finally, Ismene broke the awkward silence. "Should Hermione's version of events match yours, I will provide a cover story which will satisfy your teammates and teacher. Until she wakes, I will do what I can to cover for your both. But if she disagrees with anything you have said, or if I find you have forced her to the past, the dogs will be without a summoner once more. Do you understand me?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"Good. What injuries do you have which cannot be explained by a simple fight?"

* * *

The first question asked after the boys and Minato returned from securing the perimeter and setting up traps revealed what Rin had found. She looked quite furious and Crookshanks seemed ready to kill something.

"Where's the baby?" demanded Rin.

"Baby? What baby?" asked Obito from where he sat upon a plush chair.

"Rose was stillborn," Kakashi said quietly. "At least that's what I was told. And you'd do well to remember that Hermione gets upset when people call her daughter by anything other than her name. How is she, otherwise?"

"She's lucky we got here when we did. Another day or two and it may have been beyond the abilities of a medic-nin," sighed Rin. "There are signs that she was under the treatment of what could only be a fellow medic-nin, which was abruptly cut short."

"Go on," said Minato, when Rin paused.

"She was obviously his by several high powered jutsus which I can't even begin to identify. From what I've found, I believe this led to her going into premature labor, during which she hemorrhaged badly, loosing over two pints of blood. The hemorrhaging seems to have been halted and partially healed by the use of chakra. Assuming her womb continues to heal properly, there should be minimal scaring and she will likely be able to bear more children at some point in the future. There are a multitude of cuts, contusions, and abrasions, the last of which seem to have been caused by rug burn. There are two gashes, both several inches long, which were stitched closed by somebody at least relatively skilled very recently. Three of her lower ribs are fractured."

Rin shifted uncomfortably. "She is suffering from severe chakra exhaustion. At some point, probably the same time she suffered those other injuries, her left hamstring was cut. It was partially healed at an accelerated rate by chakra, but overuse of the leg could cause her to relapse. As it is, she currently should not move faster than a walk and when she is healed, will probably not be able to run or walk long distances again. She is also suffering from the beginnings of childbed fever. I have already started treatment on that, as it was the most life threatening of her injuries."

"Anything else?" asked Kakashi, very grateful that he'd agreed to bring her along.

"That's all of her current injuries," said Rin. "But… she… well she has old injuries."

"Tell me about them," commanded Ismene.

"There is extensive nerve damage that can only come from being tortured by ninjutsus, perhaps something lightening based. She seems to have healed remarkably well, but some of the damage still remains. Around her wrists are old scars which were caused by straining against manacles. On her chest is a scar from a wound that spanned from her right shoulder to left lower buttock. Judging by the scars from the stitches, whoever treated it was unskilled. I'm not sure how she survived it. Several of her internal organs bear scars which match in placement with this large scar and her diaphragm was certainly split in half by the injury."

"Is there more?" asked Crookshanks.

"No."

"The nerve damage was caused by a genjutsu, not a ninjutsu," Ismene said after a long moment. "The Cruciatus to be exact. It makes all of a being's nerves respond at once as if to pain stimulus. Overexposure to the Cruciatus has been known to burn out nerves entirely and on occasion cause insanity. Keep her away from excessive cold. The cold can make the nerves react badly. What are your predictions for her overall recovery?"

"If she were in a hospital, I would recommend she stay for the next two to three months and then I'd alert the military police to a possible abuse situation while she was safely under my care," Rin said venomously.

Ismene let out a sigh. "Judging by the injuries, I would say she was attacked by _Death Eaters_, who when they later found out she was pregnant, came back to finish the job."

"What?" said Minato. "Those words have been mentioned before. Crookshanks-san feared they would follow her home and kill her and her family and later mentioned they might be a threat to her life."

"Yes," said Crookshanks. "_Muggle_ and _Muggle-Born_ children, particularly girls are incredibly vulnerable to _Death Eater_ attacks. About two decades ago, a civil war began amongst the Wizarding of the _United Kingdom_ between the Wizarding government, the _Ministry of Magic _and fanatical _Pure-Bloods_ led by Voldemort and his terrorist group, the _Death Eaters_, loosely translated as Death Eaters. The civil war officially ended some six years ago with the death of Voldemort, however many of the _Death Eaters_ escaped imprisonment entirely through bribery and other means. As it is, the Wizarding of this country are on the verge of yet another civil war, though the government refuses to acknowledge this. Likewise, _Death Eaters_ are currently given almost free reign to terrorize the _Muggle_ and _Muggle-Born_ populations so long as they clean up enough after their messes that there are no obvious signs it was their work."

"What was this war about?" asked Kakashi. Obviously Fred was killed during the civil war which had not yet begun, lending credence to Crookshank's views on the political situation.

"Blood. Among the Wizarding, your status is determined by your ancestry_. Pure-Bloods_ are considered to be the top echelon of society by some because all of their ancestors for more than two generations were Wizarding. _Half-Boods_ second tier because one of their parents or grandparents was a _Muggle._ A _Muggl_e is anybody who is not Wizarding. The lowest class is the _Muggle-Born_, or those whose parents are considered _Muggles_. This term is misleading because all _Muggle-Borns_ possess a Wizarding ancestor, however they are the first in several generations to posses the active… I suppose you would call it a kekkei genkai." Crookshanks paused. "Voldemort and his minions fought under the belief that only _Pure-Bloods_ were worthy of being Wizarding, worthy of learning to control _magic_, their kekkei genkai. If they had their way, all those with any _Muggle_ ancestry would be killed or enslaved."

Rin and Obito stared at the cats in undisguised shock and disgust. Kakashi had heard of worse, though not by much. For such a goal to gain enough support to become full blown civil war was more than he had truly suspected possible, though he supposed it was not that large a shock. Minato was expressionless in a way which made it clear that he was disturbed by this information.

Finally, Minato asked, "Why do you think these _Death Eaters_ did this to Granger-san?"

"Because, for most _Death Eaters_, a night of rape torture and murder is considered all in good fun," spit out Ismene. "Kidnapping, torturing and raping a little _Muggle-Born_ girl is well within their modus operandi. It is more surprising that they let her live, but they may have suspected her dead. If they found out she had been impregnated as a result I have no problem believing they would come back to finish the job by killing her rather than allowing her to bear one of their offspring. Either her _magic_ reacted to protect and heal her or another witch or wizard intervened, which was probably how she ended up in the care of a _Healer_-what you would call a medic-nin-if she was in the care of a _Healer_ at all. Personally, I think it unlikely that she was cared for by a _Healer_. It's much more likely that her _magic_ reacted and attempted to heal her started with her worst injuries."

"It can do that?" asked Rin.

"Oh yes. _Magic_ is just another form of energy made up of chakra. It's highly concentrated in Otrera's descendants and it works a little differently than pure chakra like what you possess, but its chakra nonetheless. When a witch or a wizard is a child, their magic often reacts to high stress situations to protect them or heal them. It's the most probably reason for her chakra exhaustion and would explain the signs of accelerated healing." Ismene gave a cat like shrug. "It makes sense."

Minato nodded his head in understanding. "Rin-chan, check the younger girl, uh…"

"Deianira-san," supplied Kakashi.

"Right, her. For any health issues and then get the elder Granger-san ready to be moved," commanded Minato.

"Are we taking them back to Konoha?" asked Kakashi.

"We're taking both the Granger girls back, at the very least. I don't want to be forced into a fight with any of these Wizarding," decided Minato. He gently pulled Kakashi into the hallway. "Is this why you didn't want to talk about how you lost your eye?" he whispered.

"Would you really have believed anything involving Otrera's descendants?" Kakashi asked softly. This was going slightly better than expected. "Hermione-san's interference really did save my life."

"And your father…"

"Was actually friends with Frederick-san. That's how I first met Hermione-san." Kakashi was trying very hard to not go against anything which had already been said or cause problems for Ismene and her story later on. Assuming she even went through with covering for him. But this did not quite explain his change in personality. He looked Minato in the eye. "I saw Obito-kun and Rin-chan and you die over and over and over again… It was worse than any physical torture could ever hope to be." He looked away. "What are we going to do about their parents?"

"If they've not been harmed yet, then chances are they won't be harmed," pointed out Ismene as she padded into the room. "Personally, I would suggest using genjutsu or fuinjutsu to make them believe the girls are staying with a relative for the summer because of Hermione's condition."

"Their family in _Greece_," suggested Crookshanks. "That's where Tyche Granger is from originally. She has a dozens of family members in that country that would no doubt be willing to put the girls up. It's far enough away that nobody would expect much contact, if any. And when you bring the girls back after Hermione has recovered-and believe me, you will bring the girls back," Crookshanks' voice promised violence should that condition not be met, "you can use another genjutsu on the parents to make them believe they spoke to the girls on occasion."

"Only the parents?" said Minato.

"Hermione-san won't talk about this," pointed out Kakashi. "And Deianira-san is young enough that it would be taken as fantasy."

"And the girls are witches, they'll have to get used to keeping such things from their _Muggle_ family at some point. The Wizarding only allow _Muggle_ families to learn so much about Wizarding business," agreed Ismene.

"What does witch mean?" asked Obito as he stepped into the hallway.

"A witch is the feminine term for a member of the Wizarding," explained Crookshanks. "Wizard is the masculine. Wizarding is the name given to all of Otrera's descendants."

"Oh," said Obito. "Thanks. Rin-chan says Granger-san will be ready to move in ten minutes and that somebody should pack some clothing for both girls."

"I'll do it," volunteered Minato.

"Make sure you pack skirts and dresses," ordered Ismene. "It's cultural more than anything else, but even amongst the _Muggle-Born_, witches consider trousers and shorts to be appropriate only for their warriors and Hermione and Deianira are not warriors."

"How can you tell?" asked Minato.

"The _Ministry_'s laws are very strict on the matter," explained Crookshanks. "The _Aurors_, or police force, and the _Hitwizards_, or military do not accept applicants without exemplary_ NEWT_ scores. The _NEWTs_ are standardized tests taken after seven years of education in the use of _magic_ at the age of seventeen or eighteen. They accept nobody under the age of seventeen, the Wizarding age of majority. Both girls are certainly civilians."

Minato nodded. "Kakashi, start working on a seal which will reinforce a genjutsu every time it weakens. Don't activate it until after I approve it and make sure you place it someplace it won't easily be found."


	6. Chapter 5

Author's Note: On timelines, Sakumo's mission which brought him into disgrace seemed to have happened when Kakashi was eight, so I have decided that he committed seppuku when Kakashi was nine, because it fits better with my story.

Secondly, I know how the story Hermione told sounds-she's pretending to be an eight year old. Of course, whether it was Hermione or Ismene speaking remains to be seen.

* * *

Chapter 5

The first thing Hermione noticed was the smell. The second was the sounds coming from machinery no doubt monitoring her health. And that was when she realized that she was in the hospital.

"Bloody fucking hell," she muttered.

This was bad. This was very, very bad. No doubt she would need to force what little chakra she had at the moment to create spells her body had not yet been trained to use. It was a recipe for disaster, and she knew it. But she'd have little choice if she wanted to keep her family from jail.

"I must say, that was decidedly unoriginal, Miss Granger," said an unfamiliar female voice.

Hermione forced her eyes open. Glancing about the room, she noted that she was alone other than a small calico cat. The hospital room was… different. It was nothing she could place, but it did not seem like a normal hospital room in a normal hospital. Of course, she'd never had a private room in a Muggle hospital before.

And then she looked out the window. Hermione felt the blood drain from her face as she took in the skyline so radically different from what she was used to. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen before. The architecture followed an entirely different style than anything she'd seen in Europe.

"Where am I?" Hermione muttered, more to herself than anybody else.

"Konohagakure, the village hidden in the leaves," said the female voice from earlier. "Known generally as Konoha."

Hermione blinked. "Who said that?"

"I did."

She glanced around, eyes eventually landing upon the cat. "You cannot honestly expect me to believe that a cat can talk."

"Now really Miss Granger, or should I say Mrs. Weasley," said the cat as it sat up. "We both know you've seen enough in your life that a talking cat should not come as that much of a surprise."

In an instant, Hermione's mind was racing. "No, not an animagus… they can't talk," she muttered. "Not human to animal transfiguration either… they loose the ability to think like a human while in animal form… can't be a transfigured cat either… too smart… actually capable of holding an intelligent conversation…" She paused, thinking. "No signs of the after effects of veritaserum… no aftereffects from legilimency… definitely not an elaborate glamour…"

"Very good, Mrs. Weasley," said the cat. "And my name is Ismene."

Finally, Hermione settled upon asking, "What are you?"

"Do you remember the stories about the first feline companions the Wizarding had?" asked the cat.

And for a moment Hermione allowed herself to remember a bedtime story she'd heard Ginny tell her sons. "I've heard stories…" Hermione said slowly. "About how Otrera in her youth, before becoming the Amazon queen traveled the world for many years. And how she came upon a tribe of powerful and intelligent cats who could speak the tongue of man… And after proving her worth she was allowed to form some sort of agreement with them. Thereafter, many a witch and wizard took a feline familiar. I'd assumed it was just a story."

"It is and it is not," explained Ismene. "Otrera did indeed form a contract with the cats. Any who sign the contract may call for our help as needed, but we've not allowed one of the Wizarding to sign it since Morgan le Fay. And it is we who decide who may or may not sign the contract, not the Wizarding. That said, only one of Otrera's descendants may sign."

Perhaps, Hermione decided, she was hallucinating. "Then why are you here? I highly doubt you would want me to sign some contract."

"Because the dog summoner came to us for help in locating you."

"The dog what?"

"The dog summoner, Hatake Kakashi. He signed the dog summoning contract some years ago, from what I understand."

Hermione sat up carefully. "Why would he do that? I though part of the agreement was that we would not see each other again."

"So, you did have an agreement."

"Well," sighed Hermione. "You already know part of it, don't you?"

"About you being from eighteen years in the future? Yes, I do. I want to hear your version of how you ended up here."

"Why?"

"I have already heard Hatake's version, and now I want to hear yours."

"Why should I tell you anything at all?"

"We cats are loyal only to Otrera's descendants. I will not betray your confidence on this matter. I swear it upon my life and my magic. But time is running out and Hatake has brought you to the attention of some very dangerous people in his attempt to get you medical aid. Now speak."

* * *

"Dog summoner, you are a very lucky young man," announced Ismene when she walked into the waiting room.

"What do you mean?" demanded Minato.

The team was spread out through the room. Kakashi was sitting down in a corner playing a game of shogi with Obito while Rin filled out a medical chart. Next to Rin sat Deianira, who was speaking quite excitedly in an undecipherable language to Crookshanks and petting Pakkun, as if she could not believe some animals were capable of speech. Whenever somebody called her by name, she kept shouting "Danny" whatever that meant. Minato sat upon the other side of the girl, as unappointed guard. Kakashi was relatively sure he did so to discourage any who might consider a child possessing an unfamiliar kekkei genkai fair game.

"Hermione is awake and she has told me her version of events," explained Ismene.

"She is?" said Rin, standing. "I need to check on her. Can somebody translate?"

"I will," volunteered Ismene. "And after you have checked upon her, the dog summoner and the toad summoner shall come to her room. We may settle what happened in last night then whilst both living parties are capable of speaking for themselves."

"Agreed," said Minato.

"I'm coming as well," said Pakkun in a show of solidarity.

"I'd rather you stay and help protect Deianira," said Kakashi.

"If you're sure…"

"Yeah," nodded Kakashi.

"Only, if she's up for it," said Rin. "She may need her rest more than she needs to speak to you."

Twenty minutes later, Rin returned from the hospital room. She gave both Kakashi and Minato a stern look. "She's doing much better than earlier today, but remember that she'll tire easily. You have an hour. Don't put undue stress upon her."

Minato nodded. "Rin-chan, stay with Obito-kun and Deianira-san."

Hermione was sitting up when they entered her room, supported by several pillows. Ismene sat by her side, tail curled around her paws.

"Dog summoner, take the chair, in case you've forgotten, you're still injured," ordered Ismene. "The toad summoner may stand I suppose." Once Kakashi took the more than slightly uncomfortable chair and Minato chose to lean against the window sill, Ismene continued. "According to Hermione she met Hatake through her master, Frederick."

"Master?" said Minato.

"She was his apprentice at the time. They really were kinsmen, in the way all Wizarding are kinsmen. He was a _wanded magics _dissenter. Meaning that he disapproved of the way the _Ministry_ controlled the Wizarding populations by forcing the use of _wands_ when teaching children. The Wizarding have notoriously bad chakra control and _wands_ are focusing tools. By the time the children are adults, they are all but incapable of using their _magic_ without a _wand_ because they've never learned any other method. The _Ministry_ strictly controls those who are permitted to learn to control their_ magic_ without a _wand_, though in practice it's only _Ministry_ employees, such as _Obliviators_ who are given license to learn."

_Obliviators_, such as Hermione had been. Obviously, Kakashi decided, the cat was covering for Hermione since she possessed knowledge a child should not have.

"_Obliviators_?" asked Kakashi.

"_Obliviator_ squads serve much the same purpose as your Torture and Interrogation squad whilst simultaneously being tasked with cleaning up the… messes left behind by the Aurors, Hitwizards, and normal civilians," explained Ismene. "Oddly enough, it's a civilian position."

Kakashi tried not to show a reaction to that.

"Anyway, as Frederick's apprentice, she had begun to learn to control her kekkei genkai without a _wand_. After his death, she continued to teach herself to the best of her ability. Which is why she survived both run ins with _Death Eaters_. Unfortunately, her association with Frederick is the most likely reason why the Aurors did not give her even the appearance of aid. They cannot prove that she was his apprentice, so they can't bring her to trial, but they can pretend they were unaware of what happened."

Ismene looked at Hermione and then continued. "The first time she was captured by _Death Eaters_, seven months ago, she eventually managed to escape using a transportation jutsu. Unfortunately it took her over an hour to gather herself enough to even remember how to perform the jutsu. I trust you can figure out what happened. As for the second time, I believe we should begin with Hermione as she may not be able to stay awake for long."

Minato let out a sigh and nodded. "Could you ask her to explain what happened?"

"Of course." Ismene spoke quickly in the unknown language and then Hermione began to talk. Kakashi could not help but wonder precisely how much, if any of what Hermione was saying was being translated.

"'I was supposed to walk my sister, Danny, home from school but I gave her the key and sent her home by herself while I went to the park. Mum and Dad would not be home for a while yet and I didn't want to be there. I was sitting under s tree when I heard the sound of somebody_ apparating_ and then it went dark. I think they hit me with a _stunner_. I woke up in a clearing. I don't know where it was, but it wasn't the park. I don't remember what they hit me with but it hurt and there were _spells_ flying everywhere and I just wanted to be somewhere else and I think I _apparated_.'" Ismene said something to Hermione before explaining, "A _spell_ is their term for jutsus involving _magic_. A _stunner_ is a genjutsu which forces somebody unconscious until released and _apparition_ is a transportation jutsu like the teleportation shunshin makes you think happens."

With a nod from Ismene Hermione began to talk once more. "'I was still in the forest but I was so far away that I couldn't hear them. I couldn't move, my leg wasn't working right and I didn't know what to do and at first I'd thought my water had broke but then I realized it was blood.'" Ismene spoke to Hermione again and then said, "I'm not making her go through that again. Let's just leave it at the baby was stillborn. When the _Death Eaters_ caught up with her they made sure there was no chance of resuscitation."

There was a hard look to Hermione's eyes. The look of somebody who had seen and done entirely too much. It was not the tears and hysterics one would expect of an eight year old, but rather the reaction one would expect from a mature adult. One who was used to living a hard life.

At Ismene's urgings, Hermione began to speak once more. "'I didn't want to die. I didn't know where to go or how I was going to get there, but then I remembered the Hatakes. I didn't know Hatake-san well, but he had been Frederick's friend and I hoped he would protect me if they tracked me down again. While they talked about what to do with me, I used my blood to make my handkerchief a _portkey_. The man saw what I was doing and grabbed the handkerchief right before it activated and I had to take him along as well.'" Ismene cleared her throat and explained, "A _portkey_ is a transportation jutsu. There is the ninjutsu method and the fuinjutsu method of making them, Hermione used the fuinjutsu method which is much more complicated, but requires a fraction of the chakra. And unlike the ninjutsu method, the fuinjutsu method can pierce the barrier between worlds and planes of existence if done correctly.

"'I wanted the older Hatake-san, not the younger, but the younger Hatake-san said his father was dead. My _portkey_ took the man and I to this strange forest. There was a chain link fence around the forest and a small gate, a couple meters from where we landed. The _Death Eater_ went to hit me and then he was gone. I only recognized the younger Hatake-san because of his hair. I couldn't understand what he was saying so I used a translation _spell._' A translation _spell_ is a _legilimency_ based genjutsu which does as the title suggests and translates languages. 'I had to give him my name for him to remember who I was, but he did after a moment or two. There was a lot of noise and flashing lights but I didn't see the fight very well.

"'It was quiet and I looked over and the _Death Eater_ had Hatake-san in a _spell_. I'm not sure what it did, but he was mumbling something I couldn't hear and sweating real bad and I didn't know what to do, so I tackled the Death Eater and bit his leg real hard. The next thing I knew, Hatake-san was cutting the man with some sort of knife. When it was over the _Death Eater_ was dead so I hit his body with a fire _spell_ so there'd be no body for any police to find. Hatake-san was hurt and his eye was gone so I used some healing _spells_ on him. I could have done a better job if I'd had access to the proper _potions_, but I did what I could. Hatake-san asked me about what happened and I explained-I think he blames himself for them coming after me because he's a shinobi and most Wizarding hate shinobi, but it really wasn't his fault. I don't think any Wizarding know I know any shinobi. Anyway, after I healed Hatake-san's eye… well eye socket I made another_ portkey_ and went back home.'"

"Why did she go back home?" asked Minato.

"'Mum and Dad don't know about me being Wizarding, because they're not supposed to know until I get my _Hogwarts_ letter when I'm eleven. If the _Ministry_ found out I or my family knew about_ magic_ before then, if might be enough for them to believe Frederick was teaching me. And if they know that, our whole family will be in trouble. And I was already late for curfew. I just stitched my wounds that needed it shut and bandaged the rest before going to bed.'"

Minato asked, "Where did she learn medicine?"

"'My parents are dentists. They had to go to medical school just like any other doctor would. I learned first aid and how to put in stitches from them. Frederick taught me all the healing _spells_ he knew because he believed that every witch and wizard should have at least a basic understanding of healing.'"

"Why isn't she using that translation_ spell_ now?" said Minato.

"Because she doesn't have the chakra for it," explained Ismene. "She's already promised me not to use it until the little medic gives her permission. It requires a steady supply of chakra and a great deal of control, neither of which Hermione has right now."

"How did she know they were _Death Eaters_?"

Ismene relayed the question and began to translate. "'Firstly, they wore black cloaks and horrible white masks of _Death Eaters_. Secondly, I saw the _Dark Mark_, the tattoo all _Death Eaters _receive on their left arms. It's both a seal and a tattoo you see, and it tied them to Voldemort. It can't be faked like the clothing could have been.'"

Minato nodded his understanding, then turned to Kakashi. "I would like to hear your explanation now."

"I was in training ground forty four, the Forest of Death," Kakashi paused, noting that Ismene was translating his words for Hermione. It did not explain away his sharingan or his ANBU tattoo, but it was a story he could work into something believable. Ismene had done as promised. "The sun had just begun to set when Hermione and the man landed. He wore a black cloak, but I don't remember a mask. When I saw he was attacking a little girl, I pulled the man off and threw him farther into the forest. I didn't recognize Hermione-san at first. We hadn't seen each other since I was nine and she five. Once she started speaking a language I understood, I found out she'd come to me for help."

Kakashi quickly wove something he hoped was convincing. Ismene had cornered him whist Rin had been checking Hermione into the hospital, nearly two hours before. The cat had told him of the limits of wands and that he was not to mention his sharingan or his tattoo because she had a plan for how to deal with them.

He explained that he'd foolishly allowed himself to be caught in a genjutsu of some sort which had shown him the deaths of his teammates. Minato's eyes had lit with understanding at that. Then he told of how he'd gutted the man and, when he was on the ground, slit his throat. Even if the fight was fake, Kakashi knew his description had been very realistic. Not to mention that all the injuries he possessed had been explained. After all, he'd had a lot of practice in weaving stories.

Minato relaxed minutely and Kakashi realized that he'd satisfied the man's questions. "Alright, why don't we leave Granger-san to rest," said Minato. "Come on, let's see if Rin-chan has the chakra left to look you over."

Ismene cleared her throat. "I'm sure the dog summoner can wait another half hour. Hermione wants to talk to him. I think she wants to thank the boy. Or threaten him into protecting her sister, she didn't say which."

"Well, we haven't used up that hour yet," said Kakashi.

"Alright," said Minato. "I'll go talk to Rin-chan."

Once the door was closed behind Minato, Ismene hissed, "Lock the door and get your ass over here, boy. We don't have much time. Sit down on the bed."

"What's going on?" asked Kakashi as he did as instructed.

"Hermione lied about how much chakra she had left. She's going to use the last of it to hide your eye and the tattoo."

"What? How?"

"Give her one of your kunai." Kakashi hesitantly did as instructed. "She'd going to seal two_ glamours_ onto you."

"Gla-what?"

Hermione had already cut open her left palm and pushed his hitai-ite out of the way. She quickly began to use her right pointer finger to draw a seal around the eye and on the eyelid using the blood from her left hand.

"A _glamour_. It's a very powerful genjutsu similar to a henge. Before you ask, _glamours_ are inherintly designed to fool all six senses. When used properly, not even the most skilled can sense the presence of a _glamour_, not even a _Healer_ or medic-nin. Unfortunately, they fade with time unless regularly reinforced under normal conditions. So Hermione is sealing a glamour that will make it seem like you have an empty eye socket onto you. Unlike a normal glamour it won't fade," explained Ismene. "Don't worry, you'll still be able to use the eye, but only you and she will know it's there or be able to take the seal down."

A moment later Hermione pricked her thumb, pressed it to his closed eye and said a single word. There was a small flare of unfamiliar chakra. Obviously it belonged to Hermione. And for a moment, Kakashi compared it to another person with chakra so similar and yet so different.

"Show her the tattoo," ordered Ismene.

Kakashi rolled up his sleeve and fought back the urge to flinch as Hermione pounced. It was, Kakashi decided, interesting to watch her make the seal. It was rather like watching Minato or Jiraiya in action. There was none of the hesitance he himself showed in making new seals or modifying seals, but rather the calm confidence of one who knew precisely what they wanted to do and how to do it.

He'd been able to catch the seal she drew with his sharingan, but that did not necessarily mean he understood it. In all truthfulness, he had felt lost watching her draw the seal. It was one of the few times he had ever copied something which he could not use because it was beyond his abilities, and Kakashi wasn't really sure how he felt about that.

After what seemed like not time at all, the seal was finished and then activated. Kakashi couldn't help but be amazed at the unblemished skin which had taken the place of his ANBU tattoo. It was still there, he knew, but hidden.

"Go clean yourself up and make sure it looks right," said Ismene. "And help Hermione clean up her hand."

In the bathroom, Kakashi attempted to use the sharingan to dissect the seal upon his eye to no avail. Even for the sharingan, it was all but impossible to find. He probed his eye with one finger, more than slightly surprised that his finger experienced the sensations he would expect of an empty eye socket whist his eye was not touched at all. Hermione's work was impressive.

* * *

"Well?" said Minato when Rin came to join him.

"I'm not sure how Kakashi-kun is still standing," she admitted. "Hermione-san did a very good job healing his eye. If I didn't know better I would say he lost it a couple weeks ago instead of last night. Whoever healed his eye had the same chakra signature as the person who healed Hermione partially, suggesting Hermione herself is responsible for both. Kakashi's wounds have been properly bandaged and sutured…" She went on to describe the wounds themselves. "His chakra's lower than it should be, but I think that's just a side effect of all that's happened. I'd suggest waiting at least a week, plus however long it takes for him to learn to compensate for his lost eye before putting him back on active duty."

"And the elder Granger-san?"

"Can be released into the care of somebody responsible tomorrow. So long as she doesn't overexert herself, she should be fine. I'll need to visit her regularly for healing sessions and she should not walk farther than to the bathroom, but that's it."

"What did you find when you examined her younger sister?"

"Excluding her extraordinarily high level of chakra, Deianira-san is a normal, healthy four year old civilian. There are no signs that she has been taught to control her chakra."


	7. Chapter 6

Author's Note: On timeline, judging by Kakashi Gaiden and other evidence, Minato did not become Hokage until after Obito died.

Secondly, on the matter of needlework such as sewing, knitting, and crocheting, it is possible to do any of those, watch TV and carry on a conversation at the same time. I should know, I've done so on many occasions. Furthermore, one can read while knitting or crocheting at the same time.

Thirdly, I am going on vacation next week and won't be back until the last week of August. So I don't know when I'll be able to update next, but expect a new chapter at some point in September.

Fouthly, the youngest person to ever give birth really was five years old. At least she was the youngest recorded person. It's a really messed up story and they never found out who the father was. That said, I can find the link if anybody wants it.

Fifthly, I know, this chapter is more filler than anything else. However it is at least partially necesarry filler.

* * *

Chapter 6

"According to Rin-can, once the fight was over, Hermione-san did a better job than most medic-nin would have been capable of when she healed Kakashi-kun's eye… What was left of his eye."

"What are you not saying?" asked Sarutobi.

"Her branch of the clan recently went through a civil war," said Minato. He'd spent the better part of the past hour briefing the Hokage on what had happened. "Though the side loyal to the clan leadership won, many on the loosing side are still considered members of the clan in good standing. The situation is politically unstable which is made only worse by the fact that they are the sole group with knowledge of chakra control and use in the _United Kingdom_-that's the country Hermione-san comes from. They have no Hidden Village, though the clan's population of those who posses the kekkei genkai is larger than Konoha's number of active duty shinobi, even at the best of times."

"What?"

"The clan contains somewhere between six and eight thousand members with active kekkei genkais in the _United Kindom_alone. About seven hundred of them are either children or still in school. About the same number are actually in the military or police force, though all those over the age of eleven are taught to use their kekkei genkai and basic self defense. There are several dozen countries in the area surrounding the _United Kingdom_, with similar population sizes."

"What?!" he said.

"I know. This information comes form the cat summons, two of whom have taken over the task of guarding Hermione-san and Deianira-san. The toads confirmed this information when I asked."

"How could we not have noticed?" demanded Sarutobi.

"That's just it, we did notice. Hermione-san's clan is called the Wizarding. All Wizarding share a common ancestor, the Amazon Queen, Otrera."

"Then she was real?"

"Yes." Minato let out a sigh. "I cannot act against her, nor can I allow others to do so. The cats are still loyal to the Wizarding and seem to have taken a liking to Hermione-san and Deianira-san. They have declared that since she is a non-combatant and a friend of Kakashi-kun's, any such action will be seen as a declaration of war. Gamabunta-sama is good friends with Aminta-sama, the cat queen. The cats and the toads have been allies since before Otrera's birth. Gamabunta-sama made it clear that while we are allowed to act against any Wizarding who attack us, we are to abide by the cats' rules concerning Hermione-san. If any toad summoner, present or future harms or allows Hermione-san and Deianira-san to come to harm, the toad summoning contract is forfeit and they will, and I quote, 'do nothing to stop Aminta from razing Konoha to the ground and leaving your desecrated, half eaten corpses upon Hermione-san's doorstep as a gift.'"

Sarutobi blinked at Minato. "Is she the cat's summoner?"

"No. They have not had a summoner in nearly a millennia according to both the cats and the toads. But the cats seem very fond of the Hermione-san. They may intend to allow her to sign the contract."

"How would you suggest handling the situation?" asked Sarutobi.

It was a test, Minato knew. Sarutobi was getting ready to retire, and the only two viable candidates to replace him were Orochimaru and himself.

"The toads have been allied with Konoha since its founding. To loose such an ally would be a major hit, particularly given the war. However, they have been allied to the cats for much longer, seemingly without any conflict of interest until now. From testimony given both by Kakashi-kun and Hermione-san, her master was a friend of Sakumo-san's, at great personal risk. The shinobi are hated by most Wizarding. Hermione-san seems different in that she is willing to call Kakashi-kun friend as Frederick-san called Sakumo-san friend. Frderick-san and Sakumo-san's friendship was not to the detriment of Konoha. However, neither was it to a noticeable advantage. Of course, Sakumo-san was a ninja, he may have kept any aid from Frederick-san a secret.

"Hermione-san's abilities are unknown at the moment, however it is clear that she is a civilian and a non-combatant. That said, there are still many skills she may possess which could be to Konoha's advantage. Not to mention that when in a life threatening situation, the Hatakes, and by extension Konoha were the first people she thought of as capable of helping her. Yes, it cost Kakashi-kun his eye, but by all accounts, he does not blame Hermione-san for this.

"This is a rare opportunity. Otrera is the only known one of her kind which survived long enough to produce viable offspring. From these offspring came a large, powerful clan and a kekkei genkai. Given the possibilities, I would suggest treating both girls with the same respect and care as one would treat a visiting dignitary. It may not pay off immediately, but we would be setting the groundwork for the future. If this kekkei genkai turns out to be something useful in some way, which it no doubt will, in a decade or two we may be able to convince Deianira-san to marry one of our shinobi and start a branch of the Wizarding here, in Konoha. Or perhaps Hermione-san and Deianira-san may have or come to acquire skills and knowledge they would be willing to use for us. As it is, Hermione-san may know some medical techniques we might find useful. They may be the only Wizarding willing to consider an alliance of any sort with shinobi and we should not waste what little goodwill they have toward our kind."

Minato shrugged. "And if Hermione-san or Deianira-san act against us, the toads have given their word that they will remain loyal to Jiraiya-sensei and I should we be forced to deal with them."

Sarutobi was silent for several long moments. "I agree. Until the Grangers are healed enough to return home, your team is assigned to escort them through Konoha and keep a watch on them. If either girl does not wish to return to their country, we will deal with it then. Please keep them with one member of the team at all times." Sarutobi started to write. "This is a B-Rank mission and you and your team will be paid accordingly. I will also provide a small allowance to pay for the girls' food and any other supplies they may need. I suggest using this time to help Kakashi-kun learn to compensate for his injuries. Do you have room in your apartment for both girls?"

"Well, Kushina-chan and I have an extra room we generally give to Jiraiya-sansei when he's in Konoha."

"Good. Should we have need of your skills, we can assign Kushina-chan to take over leadership of the mission while you are gone. Fill her in on the situation. For the moment, the Grangers' status as the descendants of Otrera from another world is an S-Class secret. Please make sure everybody involved knows that Hermione-san was merely the civilian apprentice of one of Sakumo-kun's friends who came to Kakashi-kun when in grave need of protection and help. If you are left no other choice, you may explain that she and her sister have inherited her clan's kekkei genkai."

* * *

Hermione let out a sigh. The room was incredibly boring. There was a closet, now containing her and Deianira's clothing. There were two futons, but Deianira's was folded up in the closet.

Firmly ensconced on her own futon, Hermione sorely needed something to do with her hands. Though she had never admitted it to Harry or Ron, without something to do with her hands, she was generally just too twitchy to think deeply. She'd found over the years that the repetitive motion of needlework or even something so simple as chewing on a sugar quill had fulfilled her urge to move while allowing her mind to concentrate on whatever problems she faced.

Every time she tried to settle in to think about what needed to be done, her body rebelled. It had been less than two hours since she'd been taken to this apartment. This was ridiculous. Obviously something needed to be done. Hermione let out a second sigh.

She pushed the blanket off and carefully stood. She wasn't supposed to walk far, but surely nobody would mind if she settled herself in the living room instead. And if they did mind, it was too bad for them.

That Minato fellow, Kakashi's teacher and boss seemed like a nice enough man. Of course, Hermione was well aware that he'd been keeping a close eye on both her and her sister. Anything less would have been an insult in her opinion. These were professional soldiers, after all.

Hermione picked up her crutch. Once balanced correctly, she began to limp out of the room and into the hallway. Her stomach growled and Hermione changed her mind on where to head. Maybe she should cook or bake something. They both involved nice repetitive motions which would allow her to think properly.

Cooking might insult the lady of the house. Minato had said that his wife was out for the day and that she would return in time for dinner. At least that was how Ismene had translated that. Baking it was. Surely she could find what she needed to whip up some cookies. Long lasting cookies-just in case Minato's wife had desert planned as well.

The boy, Obito, was playing with Deianira while Crookshanks translated when Hermione passed through the living room. She shied away from all thoughts of Crookshanks. She would deal with the fallout, emotional and otherwise from this little revelation later. She had more important things to think about, like Ron and Rose and just why she had let Kakashi talk her into traveling through time.

Once in the kitchen, she took stock of what supplies there were and then got to work. Having decided to use only items which were in abundance, Hermione was a bit startled to realize she could make a wide variety of cookies if she so chose. It took a little longer to find cookie sheets and the appropriate settings upon the oven. Once the oven was preheating, she sat down on a chair before the kitchen table and began to put together ginger biscuits.

* * *

Obito blinked, sniffing the air. "Is something cooking?"

Crookshanks gave him a very catlike look of disdain and said, "Hermione is baking, ginger biscuits by the smell of it."

"What?!" said Obito wondering just how he had not noticed Hermione walking past him.

"I thought you heard her," said Crookshanks. "She wasn't trying to be quiet."

"Come on," said Obito as he stood. "Let's go see what she made."

After Crookshanks translated, he announced, "Danny says that Hermione is a really good cook, almost as good as the best cook ever, their mother and that ginger biscuits are her absolute favorite type of cookie."

"Oh," said Obito, his mind racing.

He doubted that Hermione would try to poison them, but this was a bit worrying. Why would she get up and bake when she was supposed to be resting?

* * *

Kushina listened quietly as Minato explained the events of the past two days, mind racing as she thought of questions to ask. He had caught up to her immediately after she'd left the Hokage Tower. For the past several weeks, she'd been on the front lines, doing what she could to sabotage the Iwa nins and had only returned to Konoha that morning.

Finally, Kushina asked, "So where's the team now?"

"Rin-chan is working at the hospital-she should be getting off soon. Kakashi-kun is in his apartment resting. I left Obito-kun with Deianira-san, Hermione-san, and the cats at our apartment. Rin-chan is going to check on Kakashi-kun on her way home and eat dinner with him and Obito-kun before heading over to our apartment to check on Hermione-san."

"Some things bother me about this. She's eight, surely she hasn't started menstruating yet," pointed out Kushina.

"According to the medic-nins I've spoken to, it's rare, but on occasion girls as young as eight start… you know. They also mentioned that the youngest known girl to give birth was only five."

"Wouldn't her parents have noticed she wasn't pregnant anymore?"

"Apparently they didn't know she was pregnant to begin with. I spoke to Hermione-san this morning about that. Apparently she hid her pregnancy with some basic genjutsus which while powerful enough to fool those without training…"

"Were not powerful enough to fool those who knew how to spot them," continued Kushina, finishing the sentence for him. "So, you mentioned this kekkei genkai, what does it do?"

"From what I've seen and learned so far, it's a chakra based kekkei genkai which is either active or inactive from birth. It seems to give a person who possesses it huge chakra reserves. Deianira-san has the same level of chakra reserves as a high level Genin or low level Chunin and according to the cats, they will more than quadruple by the time she reaches eleven, the traditional age when Wizarding begin their training in the use of _magic_, what they call their kekkei genkai. Apparently having such large reserves gives them trouble with chakra control.

"I'm unsure as to how _magic _differs from normal chakra, as Kakashi-kun is the only one to see it in action and Hermione-san is suffering from chakra exhaustion, but I'm sure we'll find out soon. The girl apparently knows something about fuinjutsu, so either tonight or tomorrow I'm planning on talking to her about the subject."

"I suppose we should get back and relieve Obito-kun so that he can head over to Kakashi-kun's apartment," conceded Kushina.

Several moments later, the duo arrived at the small apartment building, one of many that catered almost exclusively to shinobi and their families. The sight that greeted them was somewhat surprising. From what Kushina remembered of Minato's briefing, Hermione was supposed to spend the day in bed, moving only to go to the bathroom. Although apparently she was permitted to join them at the table for dinner.

Obito, what could only be the Granger sisters, and two cats sat about a table, playing mahjong. The older girl was surrounded by cushions and sitting upright, supporting her back by leaning against the couch. Next to her sat the younger girl and the bushy haired tabby, apparently playing as a team, which made sense, considering the girl's young age. Across from Hermione was the calico and on the other side of Hermione sat Obito. There was a plate of unfamiliar cookies which seemed to be communal as all three humans had a whole or partially eaten cookie before them.

"I suppose there's a very good explanation for this," said Minato.

"Uh… well," said Obito. "Hermione-san was bored, so she made cookies. They're called _ginger biscuits_, which means ginger biscuits and they're really very good. Want one? And then we decided to play mahjong. She only walked to the kitchen and then into the living room. Other than that she was sitting or laying down."

"Uh huh. Couldn't she have done something other than bake to alleviate her boredom?" asked Minato, which was quickly translated by the calico cat. He went through basic introductions while Ismene and Hermione conversed.

Hermione spoke quickly, then looked down, nibbling on her lower lip. The calico cleared her throat. "According to Hermione, she couldn't think of anything else to do as she cannot read anything in your language and she didn't know what your wife was planning on doing for dinner and did not want to insult her by making dinner herself. Nor did she consider looking for your wife's sewing box and looking for something to repair, as it is considered incredibly rude to go through another woman's sewing box without permission amongst the Wizarding. The same apparently goes for other types of needlework such as embroidery, knitting, and crocheting. Although she would appreciate it greatly if you found some sort of needlework for her to do as she cannot make herself useful by cooking more than simple meals or cleaning due to her current injuries."

Kushina gaped at that. "She knows how to do all that?"

Ismene and Hermione spoke for several minutes before the cat said, "It seems. So Hermione said she knows how to make many traditional Greek, Italian, and English meals along with some Scottish meals, although she recommends avoiding the last two as her home country is not known for producing appetizing meals. She claims to be able to sew well enough to make and repair clothing and whatever else you need, though her leather work takes much longer. She can also embroider, knit and crochet, though her crochet work is generally reserved for making blankets and knitting for making clothing."

"Is knowing all that normal?" asked Kushina, more than somewhat flabbergasted.

"To a certain extent, all witches are expected to have some knowledge of each subject," said Crookshanks. "Although skill levels vary widely. As far as the Wizarding are concerned, it is generally believed that a proper witch should know how some form of weaving, how to sew well enough to repair clothing and how to cook. Doubtless, her master ensured she was properly trained in these subjects, which would explain why she knows more than the minimum. Most _Muggle_ girls where Hermione is from only know the basics of cooking, cleaning and sewing."

"I-uh, I have some sewing she can do if she wants. Just some basic repair work," offered Kushina. "When Rin-chan says she's up to walking about, I can take her to the market to find something else to do."

Ismene quickly translated that before saying, "Hermione says thank you and would be more than willing to sew and embroider any clothing you want while she's here once the repair work is done."

"She doesn't need to do that," said Kushina.

"I think she wants to." Ismene gave a very cat-like shrug. "From what I understand, she doesn't know what to do with herself at the moment as she has no schoolwork to do, nothing to read, and cannot use _magic_ for at least a week yet."

"Alright. I'm going to get started on dinner. Obito-kun, you should finish your game and then head over to Kakashi-kun's apartment."

* * *

Later that evening, Kushina gave Hermione a stack of navy blue shirts and trousers identical to what Minato had worn under the green vest with all those pockets every day since she'd met him. Along with the uniforms-for it seemed to Hermione that more than half of the ninja wore the navy clothing and green vests-she was given several spools of navy thread, a spool of red thread matching the decorative swirls, a thimble, and two needles.

Kushina brushed back a lock or red hair and for a moment Hermione was reminded of Ginny. It was all she could do not to flinch at the thought of her sister-in-law. At the thought of her first true female friend. Then Kushina began to speak, occasionally pausing to allow Ismene, who was translating a chance to catch up.

"'These are Minato-kun's uniforms-well the ones still worth saving at least. He tends to do through them rather quickly. If you could repair them, I would greatly appreciate it. Most of the time, I'm so busy I just don't have a chance to. I'll find a couple ready for the scrap heap while Rin-chan looks you over so that you can have some material for patches. If anything is beyond your abilities to repair, just tell me. Just repair one shirt and then give it to me. I want to see your skill level before you start working on that stack.'"

"Ok," said Hermione, incredibly grateful to have something to do. With that much work, she would certainly be able to think out the situation. She'd barely gotten a chance to truly think about how she felt about what had happened to Rose before the cookies were shaped and in the oven. "Thank you so much. I was going stir crazy with nothing to do."

A moment later there was a soft knock upon the door. Kushina opened the door, allowing the medic, whose name Hermione had learned was Rin inside. Kushina spoke quietly to Rin for a moment before leaving.

* * *

Kushina could only blink as she held up the shirt Hermione had repaired. Gently, she ran her fingers along the seams and patches, looking for any and all imperfections.

"Is something wrong?" asked Minato as he changed into a pair of pajama pants.

"No, nothing. Quite the opposite, actually. Hermione-san repaired this shirt between Rin-chan's examination and her bedtime," explained Kushina.

"And?"

"That girl's good enough to became a professional seamstress. And faster than many of the women I know. At sewing at least." Kushina handed Minato the shirt. "This was one of the shirts so damaged I was going to use it as scrap. I gave it to Hermione-san to repair as a test. I didn't actually expect her to be able to repair it, or to finish it tonight."

"What are you planning?"

"If she's good enough to repair that scrap, what else can she repair? Resources are in short supply and we really shouldn't waste any more than we absolutely have to."


End file.
